Opinion ESPN’s Bill Barnwell rates the Saints as least desirable job for HC candidates [mod edit] (16 Viewers)

[BBarnes]

And a side note, I think being in a weak division is more of an asset than they’re willing to admit.
No Mahomes, Allen, or Hurts in the South.

100% fact. Any HC that wants to make a name for himself would be goofy to not be interested in this team when 8-9 wins can win the NFC south just about every year

 

[SonOfNOLA]

That is because that is how non-homers see this situation. Do not have a franchise QB and we are not in position to get one in the draft this coming year and an age/salary cap mess.

Most teams are looking for a new HC because they lack a franchise QB. The expectation would be for a new HC to develop or find his own franchise QB by his 2nd year as HC. That can be intriguing for a HC candidate to mold his team how he wants.

Saints salary cap begins to significantly clear out in the 2026 offseason. They tried retaining their own stars to maintain leadership and a level of competitiveness. I think the best candidates wouldn’t view their potential new team as a one year fix.

 

[Paul]

And who cares what he thinks anyway? Like you said it's just his opinion. He's no Nostradamus.

You’re right. He’s Nostradumbass.

 

[St. Widge]

Outside of maybe the Bears job, assuming coaches really like Williams, and the Bengals job if it comes open, the rest of the jobs are in a jumble and which is worse or best depends on what a coach is looking for. Some will want a large market because they can make more money on local shows, etc. Some will want a small market with a press corps that isn't always after their job. Some will like the QBs some teams have and not like the QBs some teams have. Some will care about the cap and others will not. Some will care more about ownership that is hands off and gives them money to work with. Some will care about full control over personnel and others won't. Some will only care how big and how long the contract is.

These jobs are open because the teams lost a lot of games. None of the possible options are going to be without their issues. Which issues a coach will see as deal breakers will depend on the coach. And frankly, not getting the top one to three guys doesn't mean you don't get a good or even the most successful coach. Nobody thought O'Connel and Campbell were the best candidates in the years they were hired.

 

[MarylandWHODAT]

 

[Consigliere]

And compared to how the Saints were viewed in 05, this job is way easier to sell.

That's what I thought. At least now we have an indoor lockerroom and a grass practice field.

 

[Crusader Saint]

Whom?

I think you mean Whom Dat!

 

[SigFreudianSlip]

Right, the link is on the ESPN+ platform. Gotta pay extra for those links.

Not a shock at all the Saints job isn't seen as desirable, given the current roster and other factors. But I don't think my fandom will be affected much by the paybait machine of news items getting an early start. We were especially undesirable nearly 20 years ago when the stadium had a huge gash in it and the breach-water was taking a while to go down. Then years later, we learn our best coach ever actually wanted the Packers' job over us in the first place. We were his second choice. And so, we've lived through worse situations than this

Water is wet. lol anyone can see how undesirable this job is right now, but it’s been worse and we managed. Will do so again, agree with your post.

Who Dat either way.

 

[Saint Greg]

And a side note, I think being in a weak division is more of an asset than they’re willing to admit.
No Mahomes, Allen, or Hurts in the South.

Imagine taking that Bears job and having to face the Lions, Packers, and Vikings twice a year. It could be a long hard fight just to get out of last place in that division. With the right moves here...and some health...we could win this division next year.

 

[Mojomajik9]

Honestly it’s a paint by numbers opinion piece. I’m shocked he ranks the Saints dead last in desirability.

Is it a perfect landing spot? Obviously not. There wouldn’t be a HC opening if it was perfect. The biggest knock is the cap situation but others have noted it’s going to clear up in 2026.

A head coach with vision can see that he’ll have an owner and front office willing to work with him. He’ll be able to truly build this team in his image. It’s almost a blank slate. That could be a turn off to some but to others they’ll see opportunity.

 

[madsaint1967]

How about this Mr. Barnwell :1) AFC is stronger right now than the NFC. So that’s 16 teams to discount. 2) NFC South is the weakest division to win, no great QBs to beat ( Baker, Penix and Young) 3) so in my opinion, we are top 4 places you would want to be. ( our division) because the very 1st thing an incoming coach wants to do is win the division.

 

[Wisco Steve]

Barnwell is tough on us, but it's not like he hasn't been pretty accurate with the criticism of our situation in recent years. We've taken far too long in just accepting reality and taking our medicine--which now we are basically being forced into. I do think he's probably a little wrong on assessing the coach desirability rank, there are still plenty of good things going for us...but we need a new vision at GM and high up in the FO. We are going to be losing for a couple years and the picks will flow in, but we can still attract a good/young coach to instill the new culture while we wipe the slate clean and reset the cap.

 

[WhoDat?DrewDat]

He's correct.

Anyone thinking otherwise is just in denial.

 

[Pocket Hercules]

The article and placement of our opening is no surprise. Having said that, while most of us wanted Allen gone a long time ago, I always felt that Loomis giving him a much longer leash than many of us wanted (on top of pulling out all of the stops to remain competitive) could turn out to be a strong reason that a HC candidate might give us a longer look. I still feel that way.

In all likelihood, next year will be a struggle regardless of who we hire. The silver lining is that our new coach will know that he and his staff will be given time and every resource we have available to right the ship. That might potentially be enough to sway a top candidate. If not, there is no harm in rolling with Rizzi for another year.

 

[St.Dan]

Fun fact: two recent permanent head coaches here (Payton and Haslett) surprisingly won a division title in their first year, defying expectations after the team had a 3-13 season the year before in each case. Winning the division is markedly easier now than it was in both of those cases. Wonder if it can happen a third time next season....