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Benson isn't happy with staff, 7-8 mark

Saints owner says team underachieved

Sunday December 28, 2003

By Jeff Duncan
Staff writer

It was not your typical game week at Saints camp.

For only the third time in Coach Jim Haslett's four-year tenure, the club prepared for a game without the possibility of playing in the postseason.

By a quirk of the calendar, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day fell on Wednesday and Thursday, the heaviest days of work for players and coaches. Yet the Yuletide and its resident trappings weren't the only distractions as the team prepared for today's noon game against Dallas at the Superdome.

Saints owner Tom Benson lit a charge under the coaching staff Tuesday during an emotional meeting with the entire football operations staff in the team's second-floor conference room.

Benson's message: He's extremely disappointed in the 7-8 season. The team underachieved. The coaches underachieved. He wants to finish on a strong note.

The pep talk was meant to inspire. Its effects, however, might have proved to be counterproductive.

Some members of the coaching staff -- most of whom have contracts that expire after the season -- said privately they felt Benson blamed them for the disappointing season.

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I'm glad Mr. Benson isn't happy with the 7-8 record. It sounds like Mr Benson expressed that the team underachieved and he was disappointed in the coaching in general. It appears some members of the coaching staff feel like they are being blamed specifically. Looks to me like Benson blamed no one specifically or they wouldn't be WONDERING who he felt was to blame. It also seems they feel they share no responsibility in the way the team underachieved. I think to a degree, everyone on the coaching staff is to blame. Whether that is the receiver coach or the offensive coordinator.

I think the coaches that felt they were being blamed shoud come out and accept SOME responsibility for the team underachieving, instead of saying they feel like they are being blamed.

Note to Tom Benson:

Mr, Benson,

You want to blame someone? Start with yourself. You are responsible for EVERYTHING. It was your decision to put Micky Loomis in charge. The decision to fire Randy Meuller and put Mr. Loomis in charge resulted in us not addressing the run defense properly. We go out and sign players that have to be considered BIG gambles. Orlando Ruff might have been a good signing for a backup, but we needed a proven inside linebacker. We needed help desperately at the cornerback position and we get Ashley Ambrose? He's an OK back-up but he's definately past his prime.

Then there is the little matter of the draft. I like the Jonathan Sullivan pick, but, WHY THE HELL DO WE DRAFT AN OFFENIVE LINEMAN IN THE 2ND ROUND? What would have been wrong with drafting a linebacker or a cornerback?

But, I'm willing to forgive all of your mistakes Mr. Benson. Just do the right thing and clean house with the coaching staff. I feel like we can go 8-8 with just about ANY coach. What's the worst that can happen? I mean, we are only 1 or 4 teams that haven't been to the playoffs in 3 years.

[Edited on 28/12/2003 by BillyC]