Congratulations, you've just been hired as the New Orleans Saints head coach. What are you going to do? (17 Viewers)

[Bill]

”Two chicks at the same time, man.”

Hookers and blow.

Sorry Mr Haslett, you've had your turn.

 

[3ParStillDriver]

Take my signing bonus and run since there's no way I hold on to that job for more than a season. There's not much other options.

But let's say I knew exactly how to gameplan well and make game time adjustments. Keep Kubiak as OC. Institute something more like a 4-3 disguise defense. I would probably look to a sneak DC hire Mark Deleone but could be swayed into a 3-4 disguise.

I would trade/release Carr, eat the cap now because my coaches and I would need a year to evaluate talent, refine the plan and future according to it.
FA, I would look heavily at Guards.

I would draft Tyler Warren and Dart with 1 and 2 and look to completely stack picks along the dline and oline for depth. Maybe even see if we can snatch Higgins at LB. Other then that I wouldn't focus on drafting superstars. I would simply look for players where I'm confident they could do the job I need done in their respective position. Not targeting athletic freaks, but hard nose football players who want to hit people, whether on defense or offense. Likely add another RB to the mix. Skattebo and Raheim Sanders seem like great late round picks for RBBC. I wouldn't neglect the secondary but I wouldn't emphasize either. Harris from Iowa or Marshall Jr from Florida would likely suit my needs as backup corners that can groom to become starters. Cooper from Iowa State is an example of a safety I can also nab late in the draft and groom for quality depth for season 1 that may be a starter by season 2. Yayah Black is an example of a late round DT to serve rotations and groom which would allow us from start of Season 2 to move on by Saunders or Sheppard.

There would be a kicker and punter competition.

QB competition but with a slight desire to sit Dart for at least half a season, if not a full one.

Let the season ride.

Next season Cam and Davis are the two odd men out. And would put a massive focus on defensive front 7 in FA and draft along with Oline and receiving talent on offense.

Coach players to punch their opposition in the throat and stomp on their little boy hoods Ditka style.

 

[ShadowMan]

It would be like panning for gold. I'd put the whole team in a strainer and shake it up.....what ever falls out is gone from the team and then I'd re-pan the draft for fillers. just my 2 cents.

 

[Doug B]

Did you really think you were going to get intelligent serious answers????

Serious answer:

A culture change has to be initiated. It doesn't have to be on the very first day but sometime early on, the new coach has to find their "Wayne Gandy's recliner" moment. The implicit message being "What we've been doing hasn't worked. At all. Adapt or move on."

One thing that might undermine this plan a bit is if any of the "gotta extend!" veterans are really locker-room problems. Not bad guys, say -- but maybe too-comfortable guys, or guys riding out the string, or guys no longer bothered by losing. If you can't waive 'em, you can demote them to second string. Without checking, I kind of think the gotta-extend crew are good dudes that will at least stay out of the way of true leadership ... but I'm not 100% on that.

 

[Hedon James]

Take my signing bonus and run since there's no way I hold on to that job for more than a season. There's not much other options.

But let's say I knew exactly how to gameplan well and make game time adjustments. Keep Kubiak as OC. Institute something more like a 4-3 disguise defense. I would probably look to a sneak DC hire Mark Deleone but could be swayed into a 3-4 disguise.

I would trade/release Carr, eat the cap now because my coaches and I would need a year to evaluate talent, refine the plan and future according to it.
FA, I would look heavily at Guards.

I would draft Tyler Warren and Dart with 1 and 2 and look to completely stack picks along the dline and oline for depth. Maybe even see if we can snatch Higgins at LB. Other then that I wouldn't focus on drafting superstars. I would simply look for players where I'm confident they could do the job I need done in their respective position. Not targeting athletic freaks, but hard nose football players who want to hit people, whether on defense or offense. Likely add another RB to the mix. Skattebo and Raheim Sanders seem like great late round picks for RBBC. I wouldn't neglect the secondary but I wouldn't emphasize either. Harris from Iowa or Marshall Jr from Florida would likely suit my needs as backup corners that can groom to become starters. Cooper from Iowa State is an example of a safety I can also nab late in the draft and groom for quality depth for season 1 that may be a starter by season 2. Yayah Black is an example of a late round DT to serve rotations and groom which would allow us from start of Season 2 to move on by Saunders or Sheppard.

There would be a kicker and punter competition.

QB competition but with a slight desire to sit Dart for at least half a season, if not a full one.

Let the season ride.

Next season Cam and Davis are the two odd men out. And would put a massive focus on defensive front 7 in FA and draft along with Oline and receiving talent on offense.

Coach players to punch their opposition in the throat and stomp on their little boy hoods Ditka style.

I don't know this plan guarantees success, but I think it makes the most sense given what we think we know. I'd be hopeful with this broad brush plan. Welcome aboard coach!

 

[Rouxble]

Clean house on the defensive side of the ball to sever all close connections to Allen. Bring in new coordinators and coaches, and release Jordan, Mathieu, and Davis. Bring in Granderson, Bresee, and Werner and tell them it’s defensive team captain or bust for them, we need new leadership to help navigate what will be a rough year. The Payton era is over, the Allen years tried to drag it out, but now it’s time to start anew in the Rouxble era.

Of course, to release those defensive players means we need to restructure Carr, so keep the offensive staff intact in 2025 to maximize his output. Tell the staff that 2025 is a tryout to be on the staff in 2026 and beyond, because I only have three years at most and Carr is on a one year tryout along with them. We’ll try to bring in another playmaker and guard via FA and the draft, but the defense will likely get the lion’s share of the resources to rebuild a defense that can complement Kubiak’s run first offense. Remind the team of what we accomplished to start 2024 with what we had, and look at 2025 as a chance to build on that foundation with (hopefully) better health across the unit.

Camp will feature a competition for the vacated spots on defense, both for captains and for starters at key positions (LDE, MLB, S). With few large cap commitments on defense, the best players that we have will play on Sundays. Anyone that doesn’t want to leave it all on the field each week will keep the bench warm if they even manage to make the roster. On offense, Carr will be named the starter, but give Rattler meaningful first team reps because we can’t afford a veteran backup. Rattler will have a chance to compete for QB1 in 2026 if Carr stumbles in 2025, and hopefully we’ll have enough hits on our defensive picks/signings in 2025 to allow us to use our resources in 2026 to build around the QB that wins the job.

Everything beyond that depends on how the 2025 season goes. I might even get fired after one year if Benson starts reading the SSF after a loss.

 

[SirLoinSaint64]

Put 10 million in savings and 3 million in my checking.

 

[CRESS_137]

Analyze and completely overhaul the programs related to the medical staff, strength/conditioning and nutrition.

 

[BBarnes]

Log in to SaintsReport and bash Loomis for hiring me

Argue with a few people why I was or wasn’t the right hire

Talk about who may have been a better option

Read Loomis all the board hate for him so I can aggravate him and make him chew his gum 120 mph

Get Sean Payton’s number from Loomis and prank call him over and over

 

[Boy_of_wonder75]

Probably put up photos of my family and stuff. Get the office looking the way i like.

 

[weunice]

Serious answer:

A culture change has to be initiated. It doesn't have to be on the very first day but sometime early on, the new coach has to find their "Wayne Gandy's recliner" moment. The implicit message being "What we've been doing hasn't worked. At all. Adapt or move on."

One thing that might undermine this plan a bit is if any of the "gotta extend!" veterans are really locker-room problems. Not bad guys, say -- but maybe too-comfortable guys, or guys riding out the string, or guys no longer bothered by losing. If you can't waive 'em, you can demote them to second string. Without checking, I kind of think the gotta-extend crew are good dudes that will at least stay out of the way of true leadership ... but I'm not 100% on that.

This is the right answer. When you get hired as a coach you have to do some soul searching and build a culture and it has to be YOUR culture. I heard a great story from Steve Kerr about when he accepted the Warriors job and had a conversation with Pete Carrol about this. A coach who is TRYING to be someone they are not is bound to fail. Players need authenticity. You can do it a lot of different ways, but you have to set the standard. You have to come up with your vision, your culture statement, words etc. and then you have to live it every moment of every day. Assess buy-in and remove people who are NOT bought in. This first year -- dare I say the first moments -- are all about setting up the culture. Once that is done, then coaches can spend more time doing what THEY need to do to win and the culture takes care of a lot of the little things. When the players are holding each other accountable to the standard, that is when you know you have done it the right way. Coaching extends beyond the time you have them in front of you if the culture is something you can live. It extends to everything you do.

 

[Nonreg]

Overhaul the offensive / defensive lines
-Interrior OL
-DE/Pressure Packages

 

[ShortFuzed9]

”Two chicks at the same time, man.”

 

[HoustonGold]

I don’t think I would want the job either for now. . I would decline the offer.

 

[kewee]

Did you really think you were going to get intelligent serious answeres????

It must be so exhausting being so much smarter than everyone else...all you do is go around talking down to people and face-palming posts.