Your Plan For 2025
 

As we settle into the realization that revitalizing this franchise will require significant moves, what's your plan for 2025?

2025 Salary Cap: https://overthecap.com/salary-cap/new-orleans-saints


2025 Calendar (estimated)

January/February - East West Shrine Game + Senior Bowl + Franchise Tags

March - Scouting Combine + Free Agency

April - Draft + RFAs must sign offer sheets

Draft Needs

Pending Free Agency and Cuts, we may need A LOT. Personally, I'd like to see the Saints focus on O line, D Line and LB + Saftey/CB

:bng:

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

Find a new team if Loomis doesn't get fired :p

I joke, but this team needs absolutely gutting from top to bottom.

Entire Defense, including Demario are awful - old, slow, no fight.

Offense, the O line gets abused every single week. Kubiak is a Carmichael clone apart from 1 or 2 motions every now and again

Players, coaches, front office, it all needs changing.

We are years and years away from being competitive

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

We have to start at the root of the problem. We need a front office overhaul. So what if we have more draft picks? So what if we have more cap room? We need to put in people who have a vision of what our franchise will look like 3, 5, 10 years from now. At the bare minimum, someone with just an ounce of foresight.

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

I am extremely disappointed with this team. To start and to address Papz's points, the root of the problem right now sits with Mickey Loomis. There are MORE problems than Loomis, but he's a good example and place to start.

Loomis rose higher in the organization after Mr. Benson passed away and is a small minority owner. He tried to keep the team together after Brees retired after the 2020 season thinking we still had time on our "window" of opportunity for a Superbowl with the assembled team.

Loomis tried to do exactly what brought Brees here, but didn't research well and there were better options available for Quarterback.

Problem was that the Saints window closed about 2020. That ship sailed from 2015 to 2020, and we missed a HUGE opportunity in that 2020-21 playoff season. Thinking we could squeeze more from the ensamble 2021 season to now was merely wishful thinking.

Much of where we are is where Sean Payton wanted to leave the Saints to preserve a "legacy", same for Tom Benson, Loomis, Brees, etc. Problem is, ALL of those people are GONE. The Saints must find themselves or be satisfied with being a shell of who they were, much like the Cowboys, Raiders. Frankly, the Saints had 1 SB and 1 very long and very good run. It's not enough to call a "dynasty" so the Saints need to get their heads out their arses.

Further, Loomis is not very smart. He's somewhat vindictive and can be childish. He has no business talking to media and "fans" and supporters of this team. He gets the org in trouble with cap money and is good at shuffling contracts and players around, sometimes demanding veterans restructure for lower pay. These things work short term, but the Saints should NEVER be that far over the cap to start with.

Loomis also talks down to fans while also saying stupid things like comparing Dennis Allen's career to greats like Tom Landry. Dennis Allen was a very good defensive coordinator but well known as a poor team leader. Merely looking at his coaching record and circumstances of being fired at the Raiders should be enough for seasoned front office people to not want to bet their organization on him as Head Coach.

I could go on and on about what is wrong, but for now, Loomis has got to go. Don't care that he's been here 25 years blah blah blah, he's being paid MILLIONS per year without accountability. He can stay as part owner and continue to blunder the Pelicans.

#1 Loomis must go. #2 Find a GM. #3 Try to salvage the contract and cap dysfunction and make a 3-year plan to escape this salary cap hell and somehow reload....

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

Provide Therapy for Guido, if he hasn’t taken a one way cruise to Antartica.

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

Mickey either needs to have an epiphany in regards to his approach or humbly retire. If I could be Mickey or the new GM's hypnotherapist for a day, here's the plan I'd try to instill:

1) Perform deep scouting, film eval, interviews and workouts prior to the NFL Draft. Cease using the Senior Bowl, Combine and RAS scores as a crutch.
2) Keep our picks and stand pat. Perhaps trade down for more picks if something ideal pops up. Other fans are sweating not having a top 5 pick, but for me that is a plus as we save a little bit of salary to help us with the salary cap situation. Speaking of ...
3) Cease the contract restructures/extensions, cut some aging talent dead money be damned and take the big hit for the next 1-2 to reset the books. If the Falcons can bite the bullet and plan to release Cousins we can certainly do the same with Carr. Follow the Falcons' lead in being firm and decisive.
4) Whether it's retirement, cut or trade - find an exit ramp for Mathieu, Cam Jordan and Jamaal Williams and other declining veterans.
5) Consider a college coach for the head coaching vacancy. I think Matt Campbell would be an interesting hire. He's maxed out what he can do with the Cyclones and if we don't go after him soon Ohio State or some blue blood might snatch him up.
6) It sounds corny, but we need to change the way the team is marketed and show fans the nostalgia bait is over. No more Brees ceremonies or anything like that, at least for the next few years. For the good of everyone.
7) Scout the UFL hard. Look for a few solid pieces we could add for pennies on the dollar. We could use this as a resource rather than settling for other teams' castoffs who are on their last legs.
8) Fire the entire athletic training/medical staff and get out of the Oschner agreement. We need a 100% new approach in this area. The Michael Thomas career-ending ankle injury was the alarm bell we should have heeded.
9) More gold pants and come up with an alternate helmet design that doesn't blow chunks. We have been treading water in the style/culture department and there's a lot that could be revised here. Denver and Tampa Bay uniform changes (mid-late 90's) showed these things can be a tool to help break the old psychology.
10) Put a lot of focus on our mini-camps so we get a better chance to evaluate the young talent that was injured for most the year. Bub Means, Kendre, among others.

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

are loomis and guido realated? :beatnik:

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

I think #5 is interesting, and #8 is something less talked about but should be.

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

Hire Brian Flores and get that defense back to what it once was.

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

What I think should happen won't unless someone gets in Gayle Benson ear that she needs to gut the staff starting woth Loomis

It'll take 2 or 3 years to scrub the roster and fix the cap properly where you haven't been pushing money forward and you can have a proper look at free agency

I wouldn't have resigned Kamara because by the 2026/27 season he isn't going to be playing. I'd make everyone that can be traded and is over 29/30 tradable , even if that means you break even in cap savings.

Find younger,faster and most importantly healthy players.


Carr would be gone for me, this isn't a playoff roster and he won't be around when it is added to him being nothing more than a lower mid tier QB.

Try and fix both lines this year
Get a big healthy RB to carry some of tbe load
Get in a young long term coaching team that won't be judged for 2025 but just a gameplay put in place

Expect 2025 to suck hard

No point at looking for quick fixes or patches to make a fill holes next year. Rip the band aid off and suck it up

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

You could have said exactly that ^^^ three years ago, and we might be a contender by next year.

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

You're probably right. But the question isn't about would coulda shoulda, it's looking into next season.

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

Halo's


Re: Your Plan For 2025
I am extremely disappointed with this team. To start and to address Papz's points, the root of the problem right now sits with Mickey Loomis. There are MORE problems than Loomis, but he's a good example and place to start.

Loomis rose higher in the organization after Mr. Benson passed away and is a small minority owner. He tried to keep the team together after Brees retired after the 2020 season thinking we still had time on our "window" of opportunity for a Superbowl with the assembled team.

I could go on and on about what is wrong, but for now, Loomis has got to go. Don't care that he's been here 25 years blah blah blah, he's being paid MILLIONS per year without accountability. He can stay as part owner and continue to blunder the Pelicans.
————————————————————————————————————
BIG MISTAKE # 1 is having YOUR EMPLOYEE be tooooo close to his/ her job as in any kind of OWNERSHIP.
MRS. BENSON made a big , forever mistake.

An owner cannot fire himself, lol.


Loomis is not, cannot go anywhere as he owns the team. Minority owner….5%- 10% ? HOW, MUCH, WHAT PERCENTAGE DOES HE OWN?

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

From lee909

lee909


“What I think should happen won't unless someone gets in Gayle Benson ear that she needs to gut the staff starting woth Loomis.”
———————————————————————————————————
I agree with all of you.
You GUYS are looking at it from a business / football point of view.

May I add to what you all said from a woman’s point of view and it includes overhaul from the top.

MRS. BENSON needs to call her step- granddaughter, step- children.
Call Rita Benson and her mother.
Mrs.Tom Benson is an “ older” lady and she is not going to live forever.
She cannot take it with her.
I asked y’all before about when she passes away, what, who will own the Saints and in which city will the team be located in. You guys said NewOrleans as it is so….in her documents….hmmmmm. Death changes everything. She has no children.
Rita was wrong.
What she did was awful, embarrassing…just nasty.
She has been punished and banished long enough.
Mrs.Benson needs a far younger, er knowledgeable, very smart, trained by Mr. Benson, as Mrs.G was….someone looking out for her team who has a more invested interest. Someone on the same team as she is on and that is Tom’s .

Loomis to me, WTF, owns a percentage…hmmm..bet he has lots of documents in position.
I could see , if in his contract, if he owned some stock in tv stations / radio media companies or banks or other Benson things. Subdivisions in land. Oil companies. Some Saints ‘ percentage ownership is way too much for an employee.

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

“Looking into next season” is in exactly the same category as “woulda coulda shoulda” for us, and you should know that by now.

Sooner or later, we’re going to have to face the fact that the charming ol lady doesn’t give a rat$ a$$ about owning a WINNING PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM, and next season promises to be another mess, with her at the helm.

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

Unless Loomis either gets told to change things or decides to move on then sadly nothing will change. He will redo multiple contracts to get the cap sorted and keep the team together in the misguided belief that he can just add a few pieces to win the division.

I would be wiping off the 2025 season pretty much and trying to reset everything ASAP.

I would try and play with the rules with Ramczyk and ask him not to retire, to sign a new deal for a bit of extra cash and spread his salary out over a few years. Its not ideal but it means you don't have to keep Carr longer than needed and i read today that Cam Jordan is saying he is playing next year wether thats with the Saints or not. He knows the Saints can't really cut him so you are likely going to have to do something with that deal.


If it can be done, i would move Carr out next year,even with that saving 1ml on the cap but giving him 50ml to play elsehwere, The team wont be winning next year and all Carr may do is get you a couple of wins that will mean nothing but lose you a higher pick.

For me you are completely scorching the field to rebuild in 2026
if this means you don't get your coach for a year so be it, they are not the man for the job anyway, this job is for a young coach that wan't to build a franchise in their own image.



Sadly none of this will happen, itll be just another year of 5-7 wins purgetory, not enough wins for a franchise changing pick(be that a tradable top 3 pick you can turn into a haul of players, or a franchise QB/Defensive building block) but not good enough to actually give you a good season

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

I don't really have any answers past some of the great comments posted here.

I do know one thing for 110% certain - we're not a few tweaks or a slight adjustment from a winner. We need wholesale change.

We need a hardarse coach/GM who is about winning. We need young blood on the team that is looking to make a name, not vets playing out the back end of bloated contracts.

Oldtimers like me know we had a culture of losing before Drew Brees.

Now we have a culture of mediocrity. That needs to end.

We need this team to at least look like it wants to win again. Right now it just looks happy the paychecks aren't bouncing.

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

Sadly, pretty hard to debate any of these points. Only chance is perhaps some type of divine intervention.

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

Our record is bad, but we've shown potential during this season. We went on a streak at one point and it was stopped by the Rams. Now look what the Rams are doing. We've played some good teams close games. I don't think we should be entirely cynical about what happened this season. I think Ewers will be the QB of the class in the long run. I think Beck has potential too, he's just looked bad at times because he's been let down by his receivers. I'd be happy if we ended up with either to develop. I expect people to think me crazy :D, but I see what I see.
'

QQ
 

Oldtimers like me know we had a culture of losing before Drew Brees.

Ah! the "Mecom" era, or should that be ERROR. The QB'S: Karl Sweetan, Jim Ninoski, Bob Davis, Ronnie Lee South, Ed Hargett, Steve Ramsey to name a few. The David Drive training facility was two blocks from my house. I watched practice from the top of a dumpster! I didn't realize how symbolic that would be! It took an owner change to accomplish a "Culture" change. The organization Tom Benson put together Hit on more coaches than they missed. Mike Ditka was a HUGE SWING AND MISS . What happens going forward will be interesting to watch. I wonder how many times Payton has called Bo, Drew?

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

Well just think how badly the Saints WR and DL can let him down

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

I think it can be argued that we are in the worst possible position of any team going into this offseason.

- The Browns and Jets are also a royal mess, but also have young top-tier defensive pieces (Garrett and Sauce) to work with or trade for a great haul.

- The Titans, Pats and Panthers don't have much to work with, but aren't in cap heck like we are, not even close.

- The Raiders (Bowers, Meyers) and Giants (Nabers) have foundational offensive pieces to build around. Same with the Bears ... I think at least one of Williams and Odunze will pan out very well.

We've managed to architect a colossal mess. Any options toward a non-violent coup of Loomis need to be pursued.

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

Been saying this for four years now. Our problem is with the old lady, who intends to take our Saints with her to the grave.

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

This

I have been looking at the roster in 2025/26 to see when they might actually get some relief and breathing room, 2026 on paper looks like the year but Loomis mess has left a roster that on paper has 39 players but in reality it has 25 because 14 of them players have void years. So yes there is at least 52ml in cap space but you have half a roster and that 52ml will drop even more when Loomis is forced to add more void years or add years to players deals. You can cut Carr and add 30ml more to the cap but that if Loomis doesn't tinker with it in 2025 which he likely will

Benson being utterly clueless about football and Loomis essentially being his own boss and GM has completely screwed up any oversight of the team.



There isn't a team in the league with less talent in the skill positions
The only top talent they have in them is 1 concussion away from seriously having to think about walking away for his own good, though getting rid of a QB that seems to walk him into a number of them

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

COLD HARD TRUTH. ^^^

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

You fire EVERYONE in the offseason. Start playing as many young guys as possible in 2025. If you win 6 games next season, so be it. Land top quality draft picks. Get a franchise QB in 2026.

Clean up the cap as much as you can so you can afford better DEPTH.

This franchise has been bad (4-19 vs winning team last 3 years) for a while.

A hard reset & drafting well (Day 1 starters) is the only way out of this mess.

But again, Saints are in this mess because of Mickey Loomis.

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

Give Rizzi the HC job, shed as much cap as possible, continue coaching up the young guys while moving out older players, tank next season for the #1 pick on Arc Manning in the 2026 draft, and get a new GM and HC to usher in the dynasty.

Easy.

Re: Your Plan For 2025
 

I'm good with half those amount of wins.