Big changes are needed for the New Orleans Saints, but they appear to be willing to wait until 2025 when it’s easier to get out of Derek Carr’s contract and move on from him and head coach Dennis Allen as a package deal — obviously hoping both of them figure things out and finally achieve a winning season instead.
So the most realistic big change fans could expect for 2024 would be a new offensive coordinator. Pete Carmichael Jr. hasn’t gotten the job done in either of his two years as the Saints’ play caller. It’s possible that Allen could promote from within (passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Ronald Curry is an obvious possibility) but the Saints badly need fresh perspective in the room. They can’t keep trying to run Sean Payton and Drew Brees’ offense without either of them.
The problem is that Allen has tried and failed to replace Carmichael in each of his first two years on the job; up-and-comers like Liam Coen would rather stay in the college ranks than try and advance their career on his staff, while coaching veterans like Jay Gruden, Scottie Montgomery, and Robert Prince are trying their hand elsewhere. If Allen is going to get a new coordinator, it’ll be someone who is either desperate for the opportunity, highly-paid to sweeten the deal, or both.
So who fits that description? Here are five names we’re watching closely.
Ken Dorsey (Ex-Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator)
Dorsey wasn’t the only problem in Buffalo – Josh Allen throwing 11 interceptions and fumbling 4 times in his first 10 games frequently set the offense back, and head coach Sean McDermott’s defense hasn’t met expectations (to say nothing of several special teams gaffes). But Dorsey did, hopefully, learn some valuable lessons about overcomplicating his play calls and neglecting to get the most out of his star talent.
He’d certainly be a good get for the Saints. Dorsey developed Allen from one of the worst quarterbacks in college football to an all-star face of the franchise. If they can land a talented young passer in the next draft class, he’d be an ideal influence on them. He designed a creative rushing attack in Buffalo (with former Saints assistant coach Aaron Kromer) that would be welcome in New Orleans, where Alvin Kamara’s talents have been squandered in recent years.
The Bills have fielded one of the most explosive and efficient offenses in the league with Dorsey calling plays, though his quarterback regressing into bad habits and some poor luck obscured that. Dorsey will be looking for work during the next hiring cycle and the Saints would be foolish to overlook him.
Eric Bieniemy (Washington Commanders offensive coordinator)
What are Bieniemy’s plans for 2024? Will he be ejected with the rest of the Washington coaching staff once the team’s new ownership gives Ron Rivera the boot? Can he go back to the Kansas City Chiefs in time for their Super Bowl run? Are the Chicago Bears going to try and recruit him to fix Justin Fields? Is he going to get serious attention for head coach openings? What’s in the cards for him? He covered up enough of Sam Howell’s shortcomings this year to field a competent offense, but eventually opposing defenses figured the young passer out.
It’s tough to believe he would take a call from the Saints after they had him sit through an eight-hour interview on a Sunday to not give him the head coaching job last time, but you never know. He’d have a similar opportunity in New Orleans to what he experienced with the Commanders this year. He could install his own offense, call his own plays, develop his own brand free of Andy Reid’s influence, and position himself for his own head coaching opportunity (which, frankly, he’s already shown he deserves). If Bieniemy has any interest in trying this again, the Saints should give him a call. He’d probably be their best option.
Jim Bob Cooter (Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator)
Cooter has been around some highly successful offenses in recent years and has presumably learned a lot since his good-but-not-great run as the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator from 2016 to 2018; he worked with Doug Pederson and Shane Steichen on the Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars before taking this job with the Colts. He hasn’t called plays for Indianapolis (Steichen has held onto the headset) but he’s been heavily involved with designing plays and coaching up the offense at each of his stops.
Maybe the Saints could lure him away with the opportunity to call his own plays again. They need new blood offensively and his experience with Pederson and Steichen is valuable. Cooter, 39, is still on the younger side for a coordinator and this could be a good fit for him. As we mentioned earlier, the Saints can’t be too picky with this. They’re in dire straits and may have to settle for a retread like Cooter if Allen can’t recruit a young coach on the rise to reconfigure his offense.
Kellen Moore (Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator)
Will the Dallas Cowboys make room for Moore after he’s jettisoned with the rest of the Chargers staff? It’s not likely, so he may have to look for a fresh start elsewhere around the league. He was highly regarded in his time with Dallas – so much so that head coach rumors have trailed him – but Moore’s inexperience was on display with the Chargers this year. Los Angeles hasn’t met expectations given all of the talent in their building. Their promising young quarterback Justin Herbert didn’t appreciably improve with Moore coaching him and calling plays.
But, again, this is the kind of candidate the Saints may have to settle for. If they aren’t going to trigger a full rebuild and install a new staff, they’ll have to go looking at retreads and coaches who have already washed out of a coaching staff or two. Their best hope might be targeting someone like Moore who can learn on the job and develop into a real asset. This is what taking half-measures gets you.
Jon Gruden (Ex-Las Vegas Raiders head coach)
Jon Gruden out at Saints practice today pic.twitter.com/TY4zVHbGOc
— NOF (@nofnetwork) August 4, 2023
Doesn’t this feel like the likeliest outcome after Gruden joined the Saints for practices last summer? It’s not what we would do, but it sure feels like Dennis Allen’s attempt at a Hail Mary. The former Raiders coach had more success with Derek Carr than anyone else and he knows the quarterback’s tendencies, strengths, and weaknesses better than anyone. From a pure football perspective, a reunion would make a lot of sense.
That goes out the window when you consider Gruden’s job status, or lack thereof. He resigned from the Raiders in the wake of a scandal in which a trove of his emails dating back to his time as an ESPN analyst were leaked documenting a pattern of hateful speech, spanning the width and breadth of racist, homophobic, and misogynistic language targeting everyone from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to former players like Michael Sam and Eric Reid as well as politicians and other public figures. It’s a toxicity that can’t be ignored, and his presence was already a distraction when he was just walking around the practice facility as an unpaid consultant.
But Allen might lack other options. If he can’t win over a young coach on the rise or a veteran looking to restart their career, he might be left with a pariah like Gruden. Would the NFL even allow it? Gruden was never officially banned from working in pro football so much as no teams have reached out to him since he stepped down from his post with the Raiders. Allen has already shown that conflicts of ethics, morals, or causing other distractions aren’t a priority for him when he spearheaded the Saints’ pursuit of Deshaun Watson. If Allen’s job is on the line in 2024 (and it should be, if it isn’t already), it’s all too easy to see him viewing Gruden as his best option.
