K Major

Underhill is spot on. The Saints isn’t a desirable destination.

Cap issues (again), OLD roster & the most mediocre starting QB in the NFL. I’d be surprised if Kliff interviews for the HC job.

Getting declined by two former coaches who worked inside your building doesn’t even want to interview with you, boy that’s telling.

The results will remain the same as long as Mickey Loomis is GM.

lee909

I don't want Mccarthy
I see him as no more than a coach that will get you to the playoffs at times and get booted early. I see it as a coach that will end you up in mediocrity, you'll never be bad but won't ever be constant going deep into the playoffs and if winning it all isn't the aim what is. Long winning the NFC South is for the owners who want fans to stay onside and turn up to pay.

neugey

This is kind of obvious now. Why would Joe Brady leave Josh Allen? Why would Kingsbury leave Daniels? Why would Kellen leave Saquon? If Big Mike decides to take a year off we could be in a lousy spot.

SmashMouth

KK is the only one that can wait and decide . He's getting a check from AZ still.

All the others have yet to prove anything. They should thank their lucky stars they are even under consideration at all. I personally think Brady did us a favor. It's rolling the dice at best if he's even HC material. Moore too.

Hence the best options, IMHO, McCarthy, KK, and Flores, not necessarily in that order. We'll see what happens.

And the notion that a team is the last option or not an option at all is short-sighted . There are only 32 teams , hence 32 HC. Each and everyone is an opportunity . Remember how SP at first didn't think much of NOLA when GB went with McCarthy. Parcels convinced him of just special it would be to accomplish what he eventually wound up doing . Despite the cap issues the Saints are enduring , the HC candidate should embrace the challenge , just like SP did way back. If Brady or some other wannabe HC is scared , he ain't HC material. Can't be afraid.

Again, McCarthy ain't afraid. And he's won one already. His career parallels Reid somewhat except the number of SB KK is an up and comer who got shafted in AZ but did great work with what he had in his shorty QB. Flores got a raw deal also. None of these choices would be afraid, IMHO.

dizzle88

This kind of feels like no new coach is going to want to come here, which means they'll choose Rizzi and then say "he was the best candidate," which I really don't believe.

Rizzi is a good ST coordinator and I know he took over a broken team, but the easiest thing to correct when a new HC takes over is pre-snap / alignment penalties. Which he didn't.

Our tackling also got significantly worse on Defense.

neugey

We made the Raiders look like a playoff team and got obliterated by the Packers. Ending the season on a 4-game losing streak sealed it for me. He deserved a token interview, sure, but any delusion that he'd be a good full-time head coach went out the window - at least for me.

BakoSaint

Not so much optimism if you understand how the salary cap actually works. You see, we get out from $50m under the 2025 cap largely adding more than $50m to future caps. Every dollar that is restructured from the current cap applies to future caps, and sometimes players with expiring contracts insist on new salaries and raises added to future caps to extend their deals. Also Loomis can't resist aging fading players in free agency. We are ALWAYS under the cap 2 years out, but the rolling restructures ALWAYS put us over the cap as that year approaches.

lee909

There may be 32 jobs but you don't take a job that can ruin your rep and one you could well be fired from before you have enough time to clear the deadwood on ridiculous contracts and start drafting your own players. If you take this job now you are praying you get the best part of two season to clear players and start building before you can start challenging for honours. Say Joe Brady took tbe job he could easily be 8-26 to 12-22 over them two years get fired and have to go back to a non HC role because he's ruined his reputation. He's far better staying as a OC for a year and seeing what's on the table next year

"Two receivers to the left, Garcon to the right. Manning in the shotgun, puts Collie in motion. Looks in his direction...it's picked off! It's picked off! It's Tracy Porter again! He's runnin' free! He's gonna go all the way!

BakoSaint

You are wrong. Its like saying if there were only 32 women in the world that one of the top 40 bachelors in the world should marry any one he can, and if the last one is a 69 year old syphilitic hag he should feel lucky to have the chance. Mickey Loomis is 69 and has the intelligence and temperament of a late stage syphillitic hag. The actual best move in this situation is to realize that some of the other 31 positions will open up next year.

The Saints current situation is MUCH WORSE than when Sean Payton took over. When Payton took over the Saints had the #2 overall pick in the upcoming draft, the salary cap space to go on a spending spree, and many options at QB with an easy out for Aaron Brooks contract, solid QB options in free agency, and a pick high enough to select any QB in the draft from a college season where the top two QBs had just faced off in the national championship and declared for the draft. Sean Payton meanwhile was the offensive coordinator of a 9-7 team who was a secondary interview for most teams, but obviously he saw elements he could work with in New Orleans.

The Saints now are the oldest team in the NFL with the least salary cap space. The Saints have like 5 former GM's in the front office which means 5 bosses for a new head coach, all yelling different orders, and none are successful or respected in the league at this point. The Saints are married to Derek Carr unless they endure extreme cap pain to make the cut. Carr is going into his age 34 season and has never won a playoff game, so in the incredibly unlikely event a coach could lead this train wreck to the playoffs, they go in led by the 40yo virgin of the playoffs. No QB has ever gone 34 years without winning a single playoff game and then become a super bowl hero, its just not happening. Carr generally can only beat bad teams, is highly inconsistent, and kills our salary costing 80% of Mahomes for 1% of the playoff prospects.

Any smart head coaching candidate with the actual intelligence to build a winning team is going to realize that to succeed the Saints need to cut Carr, cut their oldest players, get out of cap hell, and build for the future. But that could mean an 0-18 season in 2025 with the start of a positive rebuild in 2026. In 2026 the Saints could have the draft picks and cap money to bring in a QB and/or improve the oline and wr corps and be competitive, but with rookies and second year players at important positions like QB, WR, OLine, Dline, etc, its possible that the Saints will need to wait until 2027 to truly compete. For example CJ Stroud won as a rookie QB but Payton Manning and Drew Brees didnt, so can't predict the year 1 learning curve. So its possible the Saints could go 0-18 in 2025 and 5-13 in 2026, but make the playoffs as a rebuilt team in 2027. Or the Saints could keep Carr, go 5-13 in 2025, and have to rebuild in 2026 and go 0-18 then. But with 31 losses in 2 years, a coach may not get a year 3. The thing is, a candidate with better prospects might not want the scarlett letter of an 0-18 season on their record. In all likelihood, candidates like Brady, Kingsbury, Moore, etc will get their chance down the road, and even if they fail they may get a 2nd chance with a second team, but not if they have an 0-18 season on their record.

If I was Brady I would turn down the Saints unless they removed Mickey Loomis and I could blame the 0-18 season on Loomis and literally hand out commemorative Mickey Loomis bobbleheads at the final game where he is wearing an 0-18 jersey and a mickey mouse club hat and had a 40oz in both hands.

The kind of coach who is going to take this Saints job is either one who can get the power to make the tough cuts now and a guarantee of a year 3 of employment not just pay to redeem their record, or a decent coach who is stupid and doesnt understand the cap and walks into a trap, or a desperate coach who will not get any other serious opportunities this year or next year. Overall a very confident coach who strongly believes they will have other opportunities in the future and hates losing will not take this job, because there is no way to get out of our cap situation, our aging roster, and the Derek Carr debacle without a very very bad season or two.

I think the Saints will most likely hire a desperate head coach. Nobody is breaking down doors for guys like Rizzi, Kafka, or Weaver. McCarthy could be a possibility because he is not getting paid at all due to an expired contract and would be on his 3rd team, and there is not much certainty that another team would hire him again, but still he might do better in broadcasting or waiting for next year. McCarthy's angle could be to see if the Saints will give him a big guaranteed contract that guarantees 4-5+ years pay at top 5-10 coach salary, and then he can take the losses for 2-3 years, get fire, and double his paychecks on the Saints payroll and broadcasting in 2027 after taking the 31 losses.

The truly ironic thing is that the Falcons had a much better opening a year ago with tons of cap money, high draft pick, solid roster, multiple options at QB, etc and they went out and pursued a desperate coach with an atrocious record who no other team wanted. So even if the Saints do hire Rizzi, Weaver, or Kafka, he will at least be the 3rd best coach in the division, minimum.

SmashMouth

Well, KK just became available .