ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler: Saints Head Coach opening is a coveted job among people I’ve spoken to; Mike McCarthy could have interest (1 Viewer)

[Elvis]

That is interesting. I never agreed with the narrative that this was clearly the worst of the available jobs, but I didn't expect anyone to say it was a coveted job. I hope Fowler is right.

I've never thought it was the worst, but probably the hardest to have near term success with. I think the stability here gives us a bump over Jax and Las Vegas, but think the others are more attractive. due to talent on the roster and cap space to use immediately.

 

[DSnfla]

New England has 131,000,000 in cap space. And they have Drake Maye. Very attractive for a coach.

They also have 17 of their own FAs to resign. And almost no talent. And ownership that fired his hand-picked HC after ONE yr

 

[WhoDat6278]

I think Loomis’ attitude and decision making have both reached a level that makes his position untenable and “coveted” feels like a big exaggeration but two things that a coach coming here doesn’t have to worry about: salary and job security. Whoever we hire is going to get 3 seasons, unless they completely lose the locker room.

In the case that this job is coveted, Gayle Benson should get her checkbook out and offer Mike Vrabel a long term contract that makes him the highest paid coach in the NFL. He did a very good job in Tennessee and if we can somehow find a franchise QB we’ll be perennial Super Bowl contenders with him. His CV is the most impressive by a long way (obviously helps that he’s been a HC before).

Failing that, Aaron Glenn is probably the best bet out of the remaining known interviewees. I wasn’t sold on him a few weeks ago, but he speaks in a way that DA never could and commands the respect of those he’s worked with.

 

[Broad St. Saint]

Because Gayle Benson doesn’t mettle and will write huge checks to give the coach and front office the support they need.

Not sure why so many Saints fans consider her a subpar owner.

Exactly. The same owner and same FO is in place that, before Allen, had 5 straight winning seasons, many division titles, and a Super Bowl win.

I'm not surprised some might think the Saints HC job is coveted, as far as the jobs that are open right now.

You can't compare the Saints job to jobs with for example, the Chiefs or the Bills -- those aren't available. Neither are marquee jobs for iconic teams like Pittsburgh or Dallas (despite the whole Jerry Jones factor).

If you're going to be a newly hired coach, you have to compare it to the jobs that are actually open for you to get hired into. And if you've never been a head coach before, you have to realize that you only get one chance to make a first impression. If you go to an organization, lose and are quickly fired, you're probably going to be seen as damaged goods when you next try to get hired as a head coach.

The only open jobs are the Raiders, Jags, Jets, Bears, Pats, and Saints. Personally, I'd rank the Patriots as more "coveted" than the Saints - though they /did/ just fire a coach after one season, which is a problem for a new head coach, since it shows a lack of patience potentially. The other issue is that the Pats search may be a dog and pony show before they hire Vrabel.

As for the others, I think you could argue they actually have a worse QB situation than the Saints currently do. In 2024, Carr at least statistically was ahead of the starting QBs for the other 5 teams with an opening. If (big if) he stays healthy, in 2025 a new head coach probably has the best QB situation with the Saints. And QB is the most important thing for success in the NFL. You could make arguments for the Bears (Williams) or Pats (Maye) having a better QB situation for the long term (Trevor Lawrence just had an absolutely terrible season with a huge new contract, 5yrs, $275M, $200M guaranteed), but a new head coach might think he has to worry about not being there for the long term.

 

[St. Geezy]

New England has 131,000,000 in cap space. And they have Drake Maye. Very attractive for a coach.

The “Ridiculously ton of cap space” cycle is just as bad as our situation in ways, maybe even worse. Jacksonville is one of those teams that got themselves caught into that trap.

Having that much cap space means you have an absolutely garbage roster due to very poor drafting and signings and will now have to a.) massively overspend and shock the market on the small handful of actual good players you end up signing because they know you can afford it and they need the extra enticement to join your pathetic team, and b.) once the free agency pool quickly dries, massively overspend and shock the market on very subpar talent just to reach minimum spend requirements, locking yourself into bad contracts galore.

Once again though, ultimately what happens in New England will all boil down to who they sign, how they draft (most important element of all), and who they get to coach those players.

There’s a reason why you constantly see many of the same bad teams with cap space all the time. It’s a cycle. Drafting well is how you get better, not spending a ton of money on other teams’ players that thrived in other teams’ systems. Free agency is a great supplemental piece though, and especially useful when you can find a cheap bargain guy that turns it up several notches in your system.

 

[srcampbell]

Interesting. He's saying the Saints job is coveted? That would be opposite of what most have speculated.

The Saints offer the one thing new coaches want most; patience and time to develop their program. They also offer the one thing veteran coaches want most; a stable front office.
You have to look at it from a coaches perspective. Yes, they are way over the cap and don’t have much talent, but the Saints aren’t in total chaos and don’t have jerk owners and gms like many other teams. That’s why Sean Payton stuck around so long. I would rather work with Loomis than Craft, Khan, or Jones.

 

[WhoDat6278]

The “Ridiculously ton of cap space” cycle is just as bad as our situation in ways, maybe even worse. Jacksonville is one of those teams that got themselves caught into that trap.

Having that much cap space means you have an absolutely garbage roster due to very poor drafting and signings and will now have to a.) massively overspend and shock the market on the small handful of actual good players you end up signing because they know you can afford it and they need the extra enticement to join your pathetic team, and b.) once the free agency pool quickly dries, massively overspend and shock the market on very subpar talent just to reach minimum spend requirements, locking yourself into bad contracts galore.

Once again though, ultimately what happens in New England will it all boil down to who they sign, how they draft (most important element of all), and who they get to coach those players.

There’s a reason why you constantly see many of the same bad teams with cap space all the time. It’s a cycle.

That’s an incredible level of spin. We too have a garbage roster, difference is we can only improve it through the draft because we’re overpaying players who either just aren’t very good or are way past their best (we haven’t used draft picks very well either). I’d much rather be in New England’s position.

 

[Boy_of_wonder75]

That’s an incredible level of spin. We too have a garbage roster, difference is we can only improve it through the draft because we’re overpaying players who either just aren’t very good or are way past their best (we haven’t used draft picks very well either). I’d much rather be in New England’s position.

We don't have a garbage roster.

 

[St. Geezy]

That’s an incredible level of spin. We too have a garbage roster, difference is we can only improve it through the draft because we’re overpaying players who either just aren’t very good or are way past their best (we haven’t used draft picks very well either). I’d much rather be in New England’s position.

Not trying to “spin” anything. Just saying that having a ton of cap space is an indication that your team is horrible and you’re going to have to spend a ton on free agents, which has been a trap for many teams in that position that keep remaining in that cycle.

The teams with moderate space offer the most ideal roster opportunities.

If you have $131m in space, your cupboard is BARE and you will have to overspend a lot if you have dreams of using a ton of it. That’s fact, not opinion.

 

[St. Geezy]

We don't have a garbage roster.

Yeah clearly this guy isn’t familiar enough with the Patriots roster. Now THAT is a garbage roster.

 

[WhoDat6278]

We don't have a garbage roster.

We absolutely do. It has zero depth and we’re just about an average starter short in every position on the field. Combine that with the fact we just went 5-12, how is that not garbage?

 

[Boy_of_wonder75]

We absolutely do. It has zero depth and we’re just about an average starter short in every position on the field. Combine that with the fact we just went 5-12, how is that not garbage?

We do have a lack of depth at every position, but our starters (when healthy) are quite good.

 

[DSnfla]

That’s an incredible level of spin. We too have a garbage roster, difference is we can only improve it through the draft because we’re overpaying players who either just aren’t very good or are way past their best (we haven’t used draft picks very well either). I’d much rather be in New England’s position.

We don't have a garbage roster. We've had BAD coaching and an insane amount of injuries, but we have some young talent that could use some coaching up. On D we have Bresse,McKinstry Taylor, Werner , Adebo,Harris
On O we have Olave, Shaheed,McCoy ,Fuaga, Penning , Miller,,JJ

 

[DSnfla]

We absolutely do. It has zero depth and we’re just about an average starter short in every position on the field. Combine that with the fact we just went 5-12, how is that not garbage?

INJURIES INJURIES INJURIES, did you not watch this season ???? Also we had a HC that was weak