Two former New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator candidates have already been fired by the teams that hired them this offseason, with the Chicago Bears jettisoning Shane Waldron not long after the Las Vegas Raiders moved on from Luke Getsy.
Klint Kubiak, who the Saints ultimately went with, must prove he shouldn’t join them. Getsy interviewed with New Orleans twice before accepting the Raiders job. Kubiak may have been hired by Dennis Allen but that doesn’t mean Darren Rizzi won’t let him go if the team doesn’t get results. Fortunately, that feels unlikely after the team revived itself with a win in Rizzi’s head coaching debut last weekend.
A big reason naming Rizzi the interim head coach made sense was because it meant little disruption for Kubiak on offense and Joe Woods coordinating the defense. That Rizzi didn’t quickly dismiss Kubiak and go with his own play-caller after being named the interim speaks volumes.
Still, Waldron and Getsy being axed doesn’t necessarily mean the Saints got it right with Kubiak. He’s been too slow to adapt when the defense has countered his game plans, and he didn’t do a good job preparing rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler to start during a string of losses when Derek Carr was injured. Widespread injuries to the offensive line and skills positions played a part, sure, but Kubiak’s unit hasn’t reached the same heights they met back in Weeks 1 and 2.
Hopefully he gets back on track once Erik McCoy returns to the lineup. The Saints welcomed their starting center back at practice last week and waived his backup Conner McGovern on Monday, which probably signals his return. McCoy was vital to Kubiak’s vision for the offense — the Pro Bowler was tasked with setting protections pre-snap, not the quarterback, which took a big load off Derek Carr’s shoulders to start the season. There’s not much reason to think Kubiak’s job is in jeopardy right now, but if the Saints fall back into a slump after beating Atlanta every option should be on the table. They need to know who’s part of the solution, long-term, and who’s part of the problem.
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