Rizzi today made another strong case to be the next HC. (merged)
Sunday was a mirage.
Not Spencer Rattler's play. That was real. But to say that game bolstered Rizzi to be HC is to ignore the three wide-open TD passes Jayden Daniels inexplicably missed and another missed FG. The defense was terrible on Sunday. Jayden Daniels started that game 18 for 20.
That was a blow-out that turned into a close game due to an incredible amount of luck...and we still lost. That kind of luck doesn't last, and it's something you have to take into account when analyzing Rizzi and his abilities to lead this team going forward.
Are kickers really going to keep kicking for like 35% against us? Will Rizzie get to play Jameis Winston and Drew Lock every few games? Are good QBs going to have multiple big misses every week to keep us in games? Can we make a mid-game QB switch every week to catch teams off guard?
You can't count on any of that stuff. All I care about is whether Rizzi is the right guy to rebuild the roster and coach up fresh talent. I'm not convinced at all.
I agree that the game doesn’t boost Rizzi to heir apparent but I think there are some other considerations to take into account.
Rizzi inherited a decimated roster and he’s having to work with that.
The Saints had some miscues too Sunday, and a big part of winning games is overcoming your mistakes and capitalizing on your opponent’s mistakes. Sure, if the Commanders don’t miss on some deep shots, we’re having a different conversation. If Juwan doesn’t drop the 2 pt pass, we’re having a different conversation. If the offense didn’t have some early miscues, or if Kubiak attacks the Commanders differently early on, we’re having a different conversation. If Rizzi had gone with Rattler from the start, we’re having a different conversation. Everything that happens culminates into the flow of the game and outcome we’re left discussing.
To that last point, it’s fair to criticize Rizzi’s decision to start Haener but it’s the kind of personnel decision where some guesswork is involved. We can fault him for getting it wrong initially but then should appreciate that he made the move at halftime, especially for all the “keep doing what you’re doing” backlash that was heaped on Allen.
I haven’t seen enough to know if Rizzi is the right guy but then none of us really know if he is or isn’t. Back to something where a certain amount of guesswork is involved. I’ve bought into the hype about Ben Johnson and what he’s done with the Lions’ offense, but predicting successful head coaches is obviously difficult, no matter how confident any of us believe we are about the best direction to go. A lot of people didn’t feel good about Payton when he was hired; was it Martz or Kubiak (maybe both) who were popular candidates back then?
I hope the Saints have an open and earnest coaching search, and that top candidates are interested in the job. I do think Rizzi is doing what he can to make a case to be considered in that, which is all he can do.