When last season ended, the New Orleans Saints were thrown right into their HC search, but they stayed patient, well, and other coaches chose other teams. In the end, it seems the hire they made was the right one: Philadelphia Eagles OC Kellen Moore.
The Saints were the last team to hire their coach, so many of their personnel decisions came from a group that had already been hired by other teams. Now, with an entire season of evaluation under their belt, the Saints have some big decisions to make about their coaching staff.
Where the Saints Can Make Changes on Their Staff
When Moore was hired, he quickly started bringing in coaches from other organizations. Still, one of the internal hires came from special teams, making Phil Galianothe Saints’ special teams coordinator. At the time, this was an easy decision and made sense, but in hindsight, it was a mistake. The Saints have one of the worst special teams units in the NFL. The kicking has single-handedly lost this team games, and the punting has been atrocious all season.
With the Saints’ four wins in five games to end the year, one more win earlier in the season would have put them in contention for the NFC South title. Someone has to take the blame for that. If I had to choose the most likely place to make a change, I would select the entire special teams staff.
On the offensive side, two coaches stand out as options: OL coach Brendan Nugent and WRs coach Keith Williams.
Out of the two options, Nugent would be the most likely. The offensive line was a massive disappointment this season, and although the personnel was an issue, the players took a step back. OG Cesar Ruiz looked maybe the worst in his career, Taliese Fuaga was not as good as last season (could be because of injuries), and Trevor Penning at LG was a failed experiment.
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In Williams’ case, this would be more surprising, but he was a member of the former regime’s staff. Moore may want to find someone with whom he has a connection to take over the position group. Again, this would be a shocking move, and with WR Chris Olave having the most receiving yards in his career according to PFSN’s WR Impact Metric, the Saints may want to keep Williams.
The last group of coaches is the defense, and this side of the ball is a bit different for the Saints. DC Brandon Staley built a coaching staff filled with personnel from the college ranks, and with that inexperience in the pros, there was always going to be a learning curve.
It would be shocking if any changes are made with those coaches, so what are the other options? The CBs struggled throughout the season, and that’s where the coaching change could be made: CBs coach Grady Brown.
