Public confidence in Mickey Loomis has never been at a lower point than it is right now. The New Orleans Saints general manager is the longest-tenured executive among his peers around the league, but he’s put the team in a tight spot by maxing out the salary cap credit card on Dennis Allen’s vision for the team. The Saints haven’t reached the playoffs in four years.
“Wanted” posters laying out the poor decisions Loomis has made cover streets surrounding the Caesars Superdome, and you can’t talk about the Saints online without someone calling for his job. But Loomis said Monday that kind of negative feedback isn’t a real concern to him.
“People that I’ve run into, fans et cetera, they’re generally positive with me,” Loomis told reporters in his end-of-year press conference. “The occasional negative attitude, that’s just part of the job. That’s part of what we sign up for. And I try to not let it effect me, I don’t think it effects my family too much. I wouldn’t say that that’s a big problem. But I understand it. That’s the advantage, or the disadvantage of having such a passionate fanbase, is that when things aren’t going well they’ll be passionate in the other direction. I understand that. It’s understandable.”
That criticism comes from passion, and Loomis gave the closest thing yet to an acknowledgement that it’s valid. The team just hasn’t been good enough lately. And he wants to get them on the right track as badly as anyone watching from the stands or their living room.
Later, Loomis added, “I have a love for the community, a love for New Orleans. I wasn’t originally from here but I like to tell people I’m from here now. I know how much the success of our team impacts our city. So I take it personal when we’re not successful. All of our guys take it personal. That’s just part of being in New Orleans, it gets in your blood, into your soul. So not having a successful season is painful. I’m as determined as ever to get us back in the playoffs, back on the right track here.”
Those words mean a lot. But actions speak louder. Loomis must get the Saints back to the postseason, one way or another, and it might mean inspecting his own weaknesses as an executive. It’s felt like every Saints offseason has been more important than the last. But the work they’ll do in 2025 may determine more about their future than any of the last few offseasons that preceded it.
