The New Orleans Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen on Monday, Nov. 4, following the Saints’ loss to the Carolina Panthers the day before. This was the Saint’s seventh loss in just nine games on the season.

They then made a lackluster move to promote Assistant Head Coach and Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi to the interim head coaching role; it was a move that screamed that restructuring was coming.

So what’s next? How quickly can things turn around for New Orleans? Instead of looking to the future, what does a comeback look like in 2025? There is no clear path to success for the 2025 season, but there are moves that could fix the Saints for next year and set them up for years to come.

Let me be the first to say: disgusting. I NEVER like asking for someone’s job. Personally, I think we’re too flippant about the idea of ​​firing someone in this job, and we’re too quick to think that will solve every problem…being told the Saints should fire Mickey Loomis.

Loomis is the Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Saints. He is responsible in one way or another for every football move in the organization. Most importantly, he is the one who works his dark magic on salary caps every offseason. He’s restructuring contracts like Marshawn Lynch looking at “someone” in the face.

Loomis has been with the Saints since 2000, at GM since 2002, and as Executive Vice President since 2013. Now that Sean Payton and his followers are gone, the organizational structure begins and ends with Loomis. If New Orleans truly wants to turn over a new leaf, it will start with letting Loomis go.

Letting go of Loomis will finally pave the way for this team to get their calculations right. There are nine players aged 29 or over in the squad, and any player who can reach a double-digit cap number for 2025 can be transferred. By trading or releasing them after June 1, Derek Carr, Alvin Kamara, Marshon Lattimore, Cameron Jordan, Taysom Hill, Demario Davis, Ryan Ramczyk, Tyrann Mathieu and Carl Anderson could remain off the roster and provide real cap relief in 2025. .

The toughest of these is Carr, who should be traded, not released, after June 1 for accounting purposes. There is a possibility that a QB-needy team who missed the draft and free agency might take a chance, but it’s unlikely. So New Orleans may have to hang on another year. However, all other names can be carried over to create flexibility going forward.

A few other players like Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz and Chase Young also have buoyant cap numbers, but those players are 28 years old or younger. In the case of McCoy and Ruiz, I wouldn’t want to give up on good offensive players in their 20s. Even on a team that will be bad for a few seasons.

Speaking of being bad – just be bad. Because you already are. What the Saints can’t do is use the money or draft picks earned from the above plan and spend it on a veteran. And he can’t keep, restructure or extend any current players for at least one season. The roster needs to finalize itself over the next year or two before any real investment can be made.

Tanking doesn’t need to field the worst possible roster in hopes of getting the first overall pick, either. There are many high-ranked players who will still remain after the moves I suggested. My point is, don’t pay an expensive right tackle to play over Trevor Penning next year in hopes of winning another game or two. Don’t release Cameron Jordan and Carl Granderson so someone can bring in Isaiah Foskey.

It was the pursuit of past successes that brought the Saints to this situation. New Orleans hasn’t won a double-digit game or made the playoffs since 2020. But it’s still always “all in” from a financial perspective. Instead of investing financially in staff, they should do this elsewhere.

4. Build the NFL Draft

Ta-Da! Why spend money when you can spend draft picks? That certainly hasn’t been the case for this team over the last few years. In seven drafts since the historic 2017 class, the Saints have had just one class:

1. A selection was made in each round of the first two days, and
2. Made at least seven choices

Speaking of building through the draft and embracing the tank, a perfect example is CB Paulson Adebo. Adebo is a good player. He was the Saints’ own draft pick and he did well. And he is only 25 years old. This is a classic re-signing candidate. But New Orleans has to let him walk.

Instead of signing Adebo to a cornerback contract near the top 20, they could rely on last year’s draft pick Kool-Aid McKinstry to step up in the first three rounds or draft another cornerback. Additionally, they could pick up a compensatory pick in 2026 by letting Adebo walk and not making moves of equal or greater magnitude.

The best teams are built through the draft. This version of the saints was so well prepared a few years ago that it is still payment For this. It’s time to start this cycle again.

This is a sort of stand-in for each team. Of course, everyone wants to hire Ben Johnson this offseason. But Johnson isn’t just a great candidate for offensive schemes and play-by-play. He also has the human qualities you look for in a coach.

Ben Johnson loves the relationship aspect of the business. He said this to both media members and future university candidates. And he wants to build something for the long term. He said this about his return to Detroit over the summer.

“Listen, there’s a lot of stuff involved, a lot of reasons and dynamics at play. One thing that really struck me was, okay, there were eight openings last year. What would you put down? How many people still have jobs in three years? I “From that perspective, if I get the opportunity to go down that path, it’s about how do I get to that second contract?”

New Orleans may offer something most other jobs this summer can’t: a history of patience. Of course, there was a Super Bowl victory there. However, Mickey Loomis has been with the team since 2000. Sean Payton was the team’s head coach from 2006-2021. Even Dennis Allen has been on the team since 2015.

Johnson and the Saints believe in stability and a positive environment. The saints had been stuck in mediocrity for too long. There is no rush to make a miraculous comeback as there is elsewhere. This can be another happy marriage that brings success to both parties.