Tag: options

12 head coach candidates Saints should consider in 2023

After spurning head coach candidates like Eric Bieniemy and Brian Flores, the Saints have fewer options if they move on from Dennis Allen in 2023. Keep an eye on these names:

They haven’t done anything to suggest change is coming, but it almost feels inevitable that the New Orleans Saints will have to dismiss Dennis Allen. He inherited a 9-win team and turned it into one of the least-aggressive and poorly-coached squads around the league, prone to more procedural fouls and pre-snap penalties than many of their peers. Whether the Saints want to admit it or not, this story ends with showing him the door. If they’re smart they’ll cut their losses sooner rather than later.

No one set higher expectations for the Saints this year than the team themselves, billing this season as a return to form with playoff aspirations. Instead they hemorrhaged star talent during the offseason, losing players like Marcus Williams, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Terron Armstead while getting next to no compensation and subpar replacements. They tried to maintain continuity from Sean Payton’s success and instead just look like a poor imitation.

And it all starts and ends with Allen. This team was built in his vision and with his priorities in mind. That clearly wasn’t the right direction to go. So if the Saints do make a move from Allen at the end of the 2022 season, which head coach candidates stand out best in 2023?

Tabbing another in-house promotion wouldn’t make sense. That’s what got the Saints in this mess in the first place. Shuffling the staff and putting someone like Doug Marrone, Darren Rizzi, or Kris Richard on top isn’t the move. We also should assume that candidates the team met with and passed over last year won’t be interested in a second round of interviews — why should they give the Saints another chance? It takes good coaches like Brian Flores, Aaron Glenn, and Eric Bieniemy off the table, but that’s what the Saints get for not hiring them when they had the chance. Still, maybe one of them ends up viewing this as their best opportunity to lead an NFL team and circles back anyway.

Up-and-coming offensive coordinators are all the rage these days, and a couple of them are already building buzz ahead of the next NFL hiring cycle. Philadelphia Eagles O.C. Shane Steichen has a lot of fans, as does his Detroit Lions counterpart Ben Johnson. But more-experienced coaches like Frank Smith (in his 16th year in the NFL, now with the Miami Dolphins) are also out there. San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans is highly regarded and figures to have his pick of job offers, though he may look for a better situation than what New Orleans has to offer.

What about a curve ball? Michigan Wolverines firebrand Jim Harbaugh is reportedly being monitored by NFL teams on the lookout for their next head coach, and he’s exactly the sort of program-builder the Saints need in the wake of Payton’s abdication. And what about Sean Payton himself? All speculation has centered on where he’ll go after quitting on them, but it’s possible they try and talk him into sticking around after his one-year sabbatical. That would destroy the front office and ownership’s credibility and remove any and all illusions that this isn’t Payton’s team (with or without him), but we can’t rule it out. Crazier things have happened, but it doesn’t get much crazier than that.

That’s enough chatter. Let’s break down the list:

Week 13 NFL broadcast maps: What to watch before Saints-Bucs on Monday night

Week 13 NFL broadcast maps: What to watch before Saints-Bucs on Monday night

We’re in for the final prime-time New Orleans Saints game of the year against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next Monday night, but fans will have multiple options to tune in for during Sunday’s slate of NFL action. This week we’ve got a CBS doubleheader and a single slot for FOX.

But which matchups will you get locally? Let’s survey the schedule with these Week 13 broadcast maps from 506sports.com:

Opinion: Saints shouldn’t delay inevitable severance with Dennis Allen

We’ve seen enough. The Saints shouldn’t delay an inevitable severance with Dennis Allen. They have the means and enough reason to move on right now:

I’ve seen enough: it’s time for the New Orleans Saints to move on from Dennis Allen. His team hasn’t improved over 10 games to start their season — if anything, they’re losing each week in the exact same manner they started what’s looking like a doomed campaign. When he was coaching the Raiders, Allen went 4-12 twice, then lost his first four games before being fired. He’s on the same path this year with a team largely agreed to be more talented than those he once inherited.

Allen is returning the same results now that he did a decade ago with the Raiders with a penalty-rife team that can’t consistently play well on offense, defense, or special teams. This team was built on the strength of Allen’s defense, which has collapsed without him being able to fine-tune it after his promotion to head coach. The offense has disappointed, and a typically-stout special teams unit has been one of the NFL’s worst despite little change over previous years.

If they couldn’t take care of business against a two-win Pittsburgh Steelers squad starting a rookie quarterback with a bum ankle, which teams can they defeat?

There’s no use waiting around to find out. They aren’t mathematically eliminated from playoff contention yet, and that’s not going to happen for a while considering how bad the other NFC South teams are, but the Saints would be 0-3 against those same teams if not for a last-second blocked field goal in Week 1. Allen isn’t going to be the Saints head coach for 15 years like Sean Payton was. Whether he’s dismissed this week, in a few months, or in a year or two, this story ends with the Saints showing him the door. He hasn’t earned any benefit of the doubt in these results, or faith that we’ll see a major turnaround.

And if they’re smart, the Saints won’t delay the inevitable. Here’s how it could happen:

4 Saints who could be on the move ahead of NFL trade deadline

4 Saints who could be on the move ahead of NFL trade deadline, via @john_siglerr, @DillySanders, and @RossJacksonNOLA:

Will the New Orleans Saints be players at the NFL trade deadline? Historically speaking they’ve been buyers rather than sellers, but they’re in a position to make some moves with long-term ramifications after a 3-5 start to the season. And no, that doesn’t include Alvin Kamara.

With that in mind, here are four Saints trade candidates as the Nov. 1 trade deadline inches closer:

Saints lack for trade candidates approaching NFL deadline

The Saints lack for trade candidates approaching the NFL deadline. Fans may be calling for a fire sale, but making premature moves would only hurt the team further:

Check any New Orleans Saints community online and you’ll find fans calling for wholesale changes to the black and gold. There are people upset in the Facebook comments, the Saints subreddit, super forums, message boards, and Twitter groups all around — and more than a few want the Saints to tear it all down and start over, trading whoever they can to get draft picks and, they think, much-needed salary cap relief.

But because the Saints have so many players playing on restructured contracts, most of their roster is already on the NFL minimum salary. That makes offloading them easier because an acquiring team is only on the hook for their remaining base salary (unless they agree to take on other payments during negotiations) but it also minimizes the salary cap savings New Orleans would recoup by moving players.

To illustrate that point, here are the most expensive remaining salaries on the books for 2022:

  • K Wil Lutz: $2,077,778
  • DT Shy Tuttle: $1,486,833
  • QB Andy Dalton: $1,210,000
  • RG Cesar Ruiz: $1,077,177

No other player would cost an acquiring team to pay more than $1 million in their base salary the rest of the season. But it’s more complicated than that. The new team would take on the rest of that contract and future payouts for base salary, roster bonuses, workout bonuses, and so on (though the Saints will still have any prorated bonuses counting against their own salary cap as dead money).

So while the Saints could theoretically trade, say, Michael Thomas to a new team (with his new squad paying him only $632,500 for 2022), that team would have to pay his $15.5 million base salary in 2023, and the Saints would still be counting more than $25 million against the cap due to previous restructures and his signing bonus. That could be negotiated down by consolidating various bonuses into salary and asking the new team to pay them instead, but the counterbalance to that kind of maneuver would be less-valuable trade compensation. The Saints would be approaching it from a position of weaker leverage. Over The Cap’s Jason Fitzgerald laid out all of their 2023 options in greater detail, but the point is that the Saints aren’t in a position to kickstart the rebuild with many moves at the 2022 deadline.

All of this has been said to say that a fire sale isn’t coming for New Orleans — at least not a productive one. If the Saints do tear everything down to the foundation to start a rebuild, it won’t do much to improve their salary cap outlook nor their stockpile of draft assets. All it really accomplishes is further eroding their roster.

But maybe it gets to a point where changes are necessary. There could be a point of no return where you wave the white flag and just offload whoever you can for whatever you can get back. That feels unlikely with Mickey Loomis still on top of the orgchart as the NFL’s longest-tenured general manager. He and the Saints told everyone who would listen that this team was ready to compete, and that Allen was stepping into a perfect situation. Changes on the coaching staff feel more realistic than roster turnover. In the end, though, I think the Saints are going to ask for patience from fans and try to spin this all on injuries derailing their season early on. They’ll do what they can to keep their core together another year or two before making any big moves.

But, hey, maybe they get started now. If that’s the case, here are some trade candidates who could be on the move by the Nov. 2 NFL trade deadline:

One player each NFL team could trade before the deadline, from Chase Claypool to Melvin Gordon

Ahead of the NFL trade deadline, here are some players who could be on the move, including Chase Claypool, Melvin Gordon and Elijah Moore:

The NFL’s trade deadline is fast approaching, and there have already been some players on the move. That includes the Carolina Panthers recently dealing running back Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers and receiver Robbie Anderson to the Arizona Cardinals.

There are a number of contending teams that could be looking to shore up an area of weakness as they aim to make a postseason run. Not to mention, there are a number of struggling teams looking to sell some big-name players to acquire additional draft capital.

Ahead of the Nov. 1 deadline, let’s look at some other players who might be on the move, with one from every NFL team, as assembled by our NFL Wires staff.

How do the Saints plan to navigate so many injuries at left tackle?

How do the Saints plan to navigate their issues at left tackle? Between injuries and roster cuts, James Hurst is the last man standing:

This is far from ideal. One factor in the New Orleans Saints’ decision to let Terron Armstead walk away in free agency was the instability they had experienced at left tackle throughout his career — talented as he was, Armstead’s lengthy injury history was a problem, and they believed moving on would help settle things at that spot (especially given the lofty contract Armstead won with the Miami Dolphins).

But things didn’t go as planned in the preseason. Of the four players to line up at left tackle during their three exhibition games, only Armstead’s former backup James Hurst remains somewhat healthy, and it’s unclear if he’ll be fully recovered from a toe injury in time for the season opener in Atlanta; Hurst hasn’t practiced since leaving a joint session with the Green Bay Packers early back on Aug. 17.

Two of the other three Saints left tackles are down with injuries. Undrafted rookie backup Sage Doxtater was injured in that same practice and initially landed on injured reserve, only to agree to a settlement that made him a free agent. And the heir-apparent, first round draft pick Trevor Penning, was knocked out of the preseason finale with a turf toe injury that may cost him his rookie year. The third member of the group, journeyman reserve Derrick Kelly II, was waived during final roster cuts in a move that looks kind of bizarre in context of all these other losses.

Let’s put it a different way. Hurst, who hasn’t practiced in nearly two weeks, is the only somewhat-available Saints player to line up at left tackle (10 snaps) in the preseason. Penning (113 snaps) may be lost for the season — the team just won’t know until they see how his body is responding to surgery. Doxtater (6 snaps) and Kelly (76) have both already been released. So what’s the plan?

Maybe the Saints are moving Landon Young back to left tackle after training him all summer to back up Ryan Ramczyk on the right side. Young started last year’s game with the Philadelphia Eagles in Armstead’s place and saw more than 2,500 snaps at left tackle in college at Kentucky. But he’s been out of action since Aug. 16 with his own injury, promoting undrafted rookie Lewis Kidd (a former left tackle at Montana State) into the role of Ramczyk’s understudy. Reversing course for Young two weeks before the season starts is hardly ideal, but what’re you gonna do? At least Saints head coach Dennis Allen was optimistic when recently discussing Hurst’s status.

What about Ramczyk? Another former left tackle himself (noticing a trend here?) at Wisconsin, he had significant incentives written into his contract should he earn All-Pro recognition at the left spot rather than his customary right tackle role. So it’s an option, but maybe one that should only be used out of desperation if Hurst isn’t ready to go. One of the enduring problems with Armstead’s absences was that the Saints often had to move multiple starters around to accommodate the hole in their lineup. Moving Ramczyk out of the spot he’s played his best football in the NFL just creates a vulnerability in another area. If they can find a way to plug the hole at left tackle and keep Ramczyk as an anchor at right tackle, that’s the path they should take.

So reinforcing the depth behind Hurst may be the best path forward. If the Saints feel they can trust Kidd to back up Ramczyk, flipping Young back to his natural position makes sense. If they don’t like that notion, adding another body at left tackle is a smart strategy. It’s unclear whether a veteran free agent like Jason Peters or Eric Fisher would be interested in signing to play backup, but it’s worth exploring anyway. The team could also consider trading a late-round pick for a highly-drafted prospect on the outs with their current team like Alex Leatherwood or Isaiah Wynn, or wait and try their luck with the waiver wire. Either way, they have a starter in Hurst. The objective is adding a player they can either rely on to fill in for him and/or develop in Penning’s place.

It’s a difficult knot to untangle. The best left tackles aren’t going to be moved from their teams any time soon, and any options that would move the needle for Saints fans would be too expensive. Again, the goal is to support Hurst as the starter, not to replace him. That was the vision the team had in drafting Penning in the first place, and it remains the best course forward. Let’s see what develops on this front in the days ahead.

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Instant analysis on tough Trevor Penning injury news

Instant analysis on the tough Trevor Penning injury news; what it means for the rookie and the Saints offense

This isn’t what you want to see. New Orleans Saints rookie left tackle Trevor Penning is expected to undergo surgery after a serious turf toe injury, which will take him out of action indefinitely. It’s leaving a big impact on the Saints offense and Penning’s career trajectory.

Penning was not expected to start right away after turning pro out of Northern Iowa. His technical flaws as a prospect were on display throughout the summer, and though he was showing some rapid improvement the Saints weren’t exactly pressured into starting him right away with James Hurst on top of the depth chart.

The bigger issue for Penning, now, is that he’ll be spending time in the trainer’s room receiving treatment during his rehab when he could instead be on the practice field every day working with his coaches Doug Marrone and Zack Strief. There’s now a hiccup in the plans New Orleans set out for him. Time was already precious considering Penning didn’t play the position until he got to college — his learning curve was steeper than most before you even get into the jump in quality of competition.

But New Orleans may have to shift its whole approach here. Their only options in-house are Hurst and journeyman backup Derrick Kelly, unless they flip Landon Young back to his college position after spending the summer training him at right tackle. They’re one injury to Hurst away from putting Kelly in a big spot protecting Jameis Winston’s blind side.

So a move would make sense here to at least improve the depth chart. It’s unclear whether a veteran free agent like Jason Peters or Eric Fisher would be interested in signing on as a backup behind Hurst, but those might be the best candidates the Saints can find right now. They could also consider trading for another player on the outs with their current team, like Alex Leatherwood (Las Vegas Raiders) or Teven Jenkins (Chicago Bears).

It’s far from ideal. But when you consider the attrition the Saints have dealt with along their offensive line in recent weeks, losing top backups to injured reserve like left tackles Ethan Greenidge and Jerald Hawkins, plus left guard Forrest Lamp, the issue gets compounded. It’s unfortunate all around. Let’s see how they respond.

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Reviewing Chiefs’ left tackle options if Orlando Brown Jr. holds out

What are the #Chiefs’ options at left tackle looking like if Orlando Brown Jr. holds out? It could probably be worse. . .

The Kansas City Chiefs are unlikely to come to an agreement with LT Orlando Brown Jr. on a long-term deal ahead of Friday’s deadline.

There has been some talk coming out of Brown Jr.’s camp about a holdout, with the left tackle sitting out of training camp and potentially into the regular season. A new report from The Athletic’s Nate Taylor suggests that talks of a holdout may be overblown, with Brown Jr. potentially reporting for training camp on time.

No matter what happens, the Chiefs need to be prepared for all of the possible scenarios. What exactly would their in-house options look like if Brown Jr. were to miss a game? We’ve found that they’re not quite as bad as you might think:

Packers draft preview: Assessing need, options at every position on offense

Breaking down the Packers’ need and draft options at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end and the offensive line entering the 2022 NFL draft.

The Green Bay Packers will go into the 2022 NFL draft with 11 picks and a great opportunity to address needs and build the foundation of the roster.

What does Brian Gutekunst need on offense, and how could he go about filling the holes during the draft?

Here’s a breakdown of the Packers’ needs and options at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end and the offensive line entering the 2022 NFL draft.