The Fundamental Questions Facing the Saints Organization and Ownership

Great thread and thoughts RJ.

I was a proponent of blowing it up, even before Payton left. I was critical of Mickey, and ultimately Gayle. I think she has good intentions but this team doesn’t need a motherly figure, it needs a visionary, a driven leader, and it starts at the very top.

When Tom died, the plan was to keep it together. Gayle was very generous at all levels, doing anything to continue forward in Tom’s absence.

The Sean thing has kind of played out the same way. Let’s stay the course, DA is the guy who can do that for us.

Truth is, you can’t just carry on when the forces that drove you are gone. As crazy as Tom was at times, it was his drive to be a champion that eventually got us there. Though his plan and approach may be dated now, make no mistake, Sean drove the Saints to success on the field, even when the talent he had to work with, didn’t warrant it.

When those forces are gone, you reinvent yourself. In the Saints case, we attempted to reinvent ourselves in the same image as before. Gayle is the new Tom, DA the new Sean and Carr the new Drew. We do it simply by trying to prolong the exact path built by those before us. Surprise, surprise, it’s not working.

Mickey and Pete are still in their familiar roles, and I think it’s fair to believe that they aren’t the drivers and game changers we need.

Yeah I’m being hypocritical. After calling for ownership to make tough decisions, financial responsibility and a tear down (starting with moving on from Mickey), I did what fans do. I bought the hype and romanced the past, mentally annointing Gayle, DA and Carr as the people who could more closely repeat what I knew, was comfortable with, and hopeful for.

Here’s the good news, we have a good core from which to build. New leaders won’t inherit an empty cupboard. The next move is Gayle’s. If she sits on her hands, we are destined for more of the same, if not less.