Danno

The Way We Hear It

Blame for Saints’ troubles doesn’t fall only on Haslett

New Orleans

There was mild surprise last week when Saints head coach Jim Haslett wasn’t fired by owner Tom Benson in the wake of a 32-21 loss to the Panthers, a game that wasn’t as close as the score suggests. In fact, we’re told that there is a 50-50 chance that Haslett could actually hang on to the job beyond this season as long as he agrees to major changes in his staff. Defensive coordinator Rick Venturi has been feeling the heat for coaching the worst defense in the NFL in almost every major category, and Venturi likely would be the first to go if Haslett restructured his staff. Sources say Benson may be more likely to go that route because he doesn’t want to pay off the contracts of a fired coaching staff and take on the responsibility of paying a new group of coaches. The downside is that retaining Haslett and renovating the coaching staff could be met with anger among ticket holders, who would see the Saints as being willing to put forward an inferior product because of money concerns. Yet, no matter what happens with Haslett, team observers say at least 75 percent of the problem with the Saints lies in the poor performances of the scouting department and general manager Mickey Loomis, who our sources believe should be swept out if Benson pulls the trigger on Haslett.

Whispers
Although the Saints are working hard to convince the state of Louisiana to fund a renovation of the Superdome — the league’s recent rejection of a New Orleans bid to host the 2009 Super Bowl helps the Saints’ case — we’re told the stadium isn’t exactly falling apart. It just isn’t up to the standards set by the newest stadiums in the league.

Saints observers believe the team needs to undergo a major overhaul of the linebacking corps before next season, sweeping out everybody but Courtney Watson and possibly Cie Grant.


[Edited on 13/12/2004 by Danno]