The San Francisco 49ers are advancing to Super Bowl LVIII, where they will face the Kansas City Chiefs — and possibly extend the New Orleans Saints’ search for an offensive coordinator even further. Impatient fans have already called into question the team’s pursuit of a new play caller with other teams announcing hires, even snapping up three of the nine candidates to interview with the Saints.
But if the Saints are eyeing anyone on the 49ers’ staff (or the Chiefs’) they’ll have to wait until after the Super Bowl to make things official and put pens to paper. They’ve already interviewed two key Kyle Shanahan assistants in passing game coordinator Klint Kubiak and quarterbacks coach Brian Griese. Neither candidate has had a second interview reported with New Orleans, but that could be in the works.
And they won’t be available to move into a new office until after coaching the big game in February. That’s been the case in recent years for coaches hired away from teams competing the Super Bowl like former Philadelphia Eagles coordinators Shane Steichen and Jonathan Gannon, as well as former Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell. They each took many assistants and support staff from their former teams.
So if that’s a path the Saints intend to follow, fans will have to hurry up and wait for movement. Some teams move quicker than others but New Orleans has stuck by its patient approach. Hopefully it will lead them to the right decision and produce results Saints fans can be proud of.
