Tag: Interim

Report: Saints’ interim coach already has his next job lined up

Darren Rizzi is going to wait and see how the Saints head coach search plays out, but he may already have his next job lined up. You’ll never guess where:

Here’s the big tell everyone was waiting for. Darren Rizzi appears to have his next job lined up after working as the New Orleans Saints interim head coach this season — NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that Rizzi “is likely to become the new Broncos special teams coordinator.” Rizzi was brought to the Saints by Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton when he was running the operation in New Orleans, so it makes sense he would partner up again with Rizzi when given the chance.

Of course it isn’t as simple as Rizzi swapping his Saints hat for a Broncos cap and getting on a flight to Denver this Monday morning. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill clarifies that “Denver has not yet requested to interview him” and that while Rizzi would be the favorite for this job, he’s going to wait until the Saints officially name their next head coach before moving on.

And that candidate is expected to be Kellen Moore. Saints general manager Mickey Loomis told other candidates for the job on Friday that he was focused on continuing negotiations with the Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator, and that he wouldn’t make a final decision on the job until after Super Bowl LIX. That’s when NFL rules allow Moore to next speak with the Saints and accept the job. The Broncos are going to at least consider their options for a special teams coordinator, but the expectation should be that Rizzi will end up on staff with Payton once again.

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Report: Chicago Bears not expected to hire former Saints interim coach

After speculation that the Chicago Bears may target Darren Rizzi as a special teams coordinator, this reports says that’s no longer the plan:

After the hiring of Ben Johnson to be head coach of the Chicago Bears, there was speculation going around that New Orleans Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi was the target of interest to join Johnson’s new staff. However, that development has stalled out, as Rizzi works to make his case for the Saints head coaching job as we speak.

Rizzi is competing with some strong candidates for the Saints job, including Mike McCarthy, Joe Brady, Kellen Moore, Anthony Weaver, Mike Kafka, and maybe Kliff Kingsbury. While he does have the upper hand of being in the Saints system for years now and having the interim head coach experience, it also has to be factored in that his head coaching stint was not particularly fantastic. The team went 3-5 with Rizzi after their 2-7 start to the season.

He is also not the only coach among the list with ties to the Saints, so it is going to be an intriguing hire one way or another based on who they decide on. With that said, Rizzi is pushing all his chips into the center of the table on the head coaching gig, as it is hard to pass up a spot with Ben Johnson and crew.

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Alvin Kamara just cast his vote for the next Saints head coach

Alvin Kamara just cast his vote for the next head coach of the New Orleans Saints. He believes Darren Rizzi has earned the opportunity to lead this team:

Don’t look now, but New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara just cast his vote for who should be the team’s next head coach. He says interim head coach Darren Rizzi has earned an opportunity to lead the team.

“Aite my vote for head coach rhyme wit Fizzi…” Kamara wrote on social media.

And the Saints are at least giving Rizzi a real shot at the job. He interviewed alongside other candidates and is expected to get a second interview just like Anthony Weaver, Mike Kafka, and maybe Aaron Glenn.

He’ll need to have a plan to right this ship. Rizzi went 3-5 as the interim coach replacing Dennis Allen and while the team met some impressive heights, they also fell flat far too often. They lost in a couple of blowouts to close out the season and just weren’t prepared for a prime-time game with the Green Bay Packers. Maybe he has a good plan for turning over the coaching staff and making some much-needed personnel moves.

Either way, it’s not surprising that Kamara is so loyal to Rizzi. The coach leaned on the star running back when he took over as the interim and named Kamara a team captain for the rest of the season. So Kamara is standing beside Rizzi just like he once did for him. It’s not likely Mickey Loomis and Co. are soliciting input from players like Kamara, but you never know. Maybe his support makes a difference.

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Saints are interviewing two head coach candidates Friday, including hotshot OC

The New Orleans Saints are interviewing two head coach candidates Friday, including hotshot Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady:

This could be big. The New Orleans Saints are interviewing two head coach candidates Friday, including hotshot Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady and their own interim head coach Darren Rizzi. The news was first reported by CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones.

Rizzi is said to have a lot of support in the building, and he has tight bonds to the coaches who have led two of the NFL’s biggest cultural turnarounds in recent years — Dan Campbell with the Detroit Lions (who Rizzi coached with on the Miami Dolphins, and again in New Orleans) and Sean Payton with the Denver Broncos, who brought him to the Saints in the first place. That influence matters and general manager Mickey Loomis could view him as the right pick to lead a rebuild, despite his 3-5 record last season.

Coincidentally, the Broncos dismissed special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica on Friday morning, which opens up a new opportunity for Rizzi. He’s an obvious pick for that job if he doesn’t get the full-time head coach position with the Saints given his background on special teams and experience with Payton.

But the real highlight here is Brady. His stock hasn’t been this high since he called plays for the LSU Tigers’ 2019 national championship-winning squad, having defied Payton’s advice to leave an assistant coaching job with the Saints for that opportunity. Brady has earned a lot of credit from Bills star quarterback Josh Allen for their resurgence the last two years and he could be a real candidate for the Saints.

Brady’s interview will be held virtually, per NFL rules, while Rizzi will get to sit down with Loomis first since he’s already under contract with the Saints. If they go well we could see second interviews scheduled (and in-person for all candidates) as soon as next week.

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Darren Rizzi has received a head coach interview request from another team

The New York Jets have requested to interview New Orleans Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi for their own vacancy. He went 3-5 after replacing Dennis Allen:

Darren Rizzi is expected to interview for the New Orleans Saints head coaching vacancy, but it won’t be his only interview.

NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill reports the New York Jets have requested to interview the Saints interim head coach for their own head coaching vacancy.

It’s interesting the Jets are pursuing Rizzi when there’s been dwindling chatter of Rizzi getting the job in New Orleans. New York is also going after Aaron Glenn, Joe Brady and Mike Vrabel as well, but now Rizzi is added to the bunch.

Rizzi took over for Dennis Allen just before the Saints’ bye week, and finished with a 3-5 record. There was obviously something they liked from those eight weeks.

There was an initial surge by the Saints under Rizzi. In evaluating the results, it’s important to note Rizzi was working with bare cabinets. The lack of many critical starters on offense was certainly taken into account.

Results aside, Rizzi seems like a guy who is ready to build a culture of his own. That culture has to lead to success. Showcasing the ability to create an instant culture shift likely made the Jets want to see Rizzi’s long-term vision if he had the opportunity to build from scratch.

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Darren Rizzi talk player injuries, support he’s had as interim HC

Darren Rizzi reflected on his time as interim head coach of the New Orleans Saints and shared details on Foster Moreau’s injury after Sunday’s season-ending loss:

Darren Rizzi and the New Orleans Saints did not get the outcome they were after on Sunday, despite giving the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a run for their money.

The Saints held the momentum for the majority of the 27-19 loss, but there were some low points, including injuries. Those included when tight end Foster Moreau went down with a knee injury and safety Tyrann Mathieu suffering a concussion late in the fourth quarter.

Rizzi spoke to that when he met with the media following the game.

“(Foster Moreau) is dealing with a knee injury,” Rizzi said. “I do not know any of the details yet. It’s just way too early. But I do know he got a knee injury in there in that last two-minute drill.”

The interim head coach who was thrust into action when the Saints parted ways with Dennis Allen also spoke to the way that he feels he has been received by the players in his time there.

He said that the team will go through the motions of the exit phase and that he will have a sit-down with the ownership and the front office.

“No matter what happens with me, they have to through with The NFL interview process. I know I’ll be a part of that. But, other than that, I’ll start getting a few days off and reflecting on things and go from there. Right now, I’m hurting for those guys in the locker room.”

Rizzi went on to explain that the last game of the season “always sucks” unless you are the team winning the Super Bowl, and that for him, he will never forget some of the special moments and special things that have been said to him in this time.

“They’re really emotional. There were some guys that were emotional postgame that usually are not, and that makes me emotional,” Rizzi said as he got teary-eyed.

“I love those guys and I love that locker room. Those guys have been unbelievably supportive of me. That’s just a huge personal thank you to the locker room.”

It remains to be seen to just exactly what will unfold moving forward, but it’s safe to expect the winds of change to blow strongly as the Saints continue through an era of transition.

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Surpassing the ‘interim bump’ must be a focus for Darren Rizzi

Darren Rizzi won his first two games as interim coach, but he is placing an emphasis on not letting the energy taper. They must sustain it past the interim bump:

When a team makes a change at head coach, that can sometimes lead to a jolt around the team. Renewed energy can make you feel like you’re watching a completely different team. That energy a lot of times, but not all the time, is temporary.

The New Orleans Saints moved on from Dennis Allen in the middle of the season and appointed Darren Rizzi the interim head coach. Since then, the Saints have won their last two contests.

The temporary nature of these jolts isn’t lost on Rizzi, and it’s his responsibility to ensure the momentum wasn’t temporary. He labels keeping energy steady a point of emphasis. Rizzi encouraged players to focus on “all the reasons we’ve done well the last two games.” Remain consistent on that and the hope is the results will the same as well.

As far as energy fading, Rizzi doesn’t see that as a concern this week. The energy and enthusiasm in the locker room remains high. Rizzi felt the team had one of their best practices on Tuesday. It just needs to translate and earn results on Sunday.

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Darren Rizzi is already one of the Saints’ winningest interim coaches

After just two games, Darren Rizzi is tied for the second-most wins by a New Orleans Saints interim head coach. How far to reach the top?

Darren Rizzi’s the only New Orleans Saints head coach other than Sean Payton to start 2-0. The second victory tied him with Aaron Kromer for the second most victories by a Saints’ interim head coach. The only person with more victories is Joe Vitt, who took over for Kromer after six games.

The big difference between Rizzi, Kromer and Vitt is the situations they inherited. Kromer and Vitt were interim coaches because Payton was suspended for a year. The team the year prior went 13-3 and is one of the greatest teams in franchise history. Did we mention Drew Brees was still the quarterback?

That was a flourishing team who lost their head coach for the entirety of the season. Rizzi took on a team in the middle of the year that was in the midst of a seven game losing streak. These were drastically different circumstances, to say the least.

Unless there’s a complete explosion, Rizzi will finish the year with more victories than Kromer. To cross Vitt’s bar of five wins, New Orleans will have to beat the Rams, Packers, Commanders or Buccaneers in addition to winning the easier games on the schedule.

Rizzi has started his run strong, but how it ends will determine how the Rizzi Era is remembered.

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This outlet says Darren Rizzi is making a case to stay long-term

It’s tough to go from interim to permanent head coach, but Bleacher Report feels Darren Rizzi is making a strong case to do just that.

The New Orleans Saints are undefeated since Darren Rizzi assumed head coaching duties from Dennis Allen. After only two games, Bleacher Report’s staff of NFL analysts believes Rizzi is forming a case to be the Saints head coach on a permanent basis.

Interim coaches aren’t typically retained after the season, but a strong ending would likely insert Rizzi into the conversation. The way Rizzi has rejuvenated the building feels similar to how Antonio Pierce impacted the Las Vegas Raiders a year ago. Pierce was retained as the Raiders head coach beyond his interim season.

Some would say winning cures all, and that’s the truth. On the other hand, the energy shift transpired before the Saints ever broke their losing streak. The shift partially had to do with moving on from Allen, but New Orleans picked the right person to close out the season as well.

Making a case or entering into the conversation is far from being the favorite. If Rizzi continues to lead the team in a similar fashion as he’s doing now, he deserves an interview during the search.

Saints WR has a sweet comparison for interim head coach Darren Rizzi

Head coaches have been described in many ways, but Darren Rizzi may be the first to be compared to a Sour Patch Kid:

We’ve heard NFL head coaches be described in a few different ways, but Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s description of Darren Rizzi has to be one of the more unique descriptions in recent memory.

In a sitdown interview with Kay Adams, Valdes-Scantling compared the New Orleans Saints interim head coach to a Sour Patch Kid.Yes, the candy that’s sour then sweet. Instead of being sour and sweet, Rizzi possesses that same duality but in a different way. Valdes-Scantling described it as being “Fiery one second then he’s cool the next second.”

As funny as it is, it’s also a great representation of Rizzi’s personality. This comes from a player who has only been in New Orleans for two weeks. It’s a short time, but the wide receiver says Rizzi has “been the same guy every single day.”

When changing roles from coordinator to head coach, it’s easy to take on a new personality when your amount of power changes. That didn’t happen with Rizzi. He remained genuine the whole time.

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