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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