Article Fowler: “Early belief that Loomis has good chance to remain Saints general manager. Thats not 100%, but thats what people in the know are predicting.” (3 Viewers)

[sfidc3]

“Early belief” and “thats not 100%” mentioned in the article are very noteworthy.

Although it seems likely that Loomis remains GM right now based on his long history, that’s the first time we’ve seen some possibility that he may not be GM being mentioned by a reporter.

How the rest of the season plays out in W/L might determine whether Loomis steps down or not.

I felt the same way when I saw the headline, like the dreaded "vote of confidence".....It's hard to say what is going to happen at this point, but thank god Gayle stepped in and did the right thing....

I understand the notion of defending Loomis based on his hiring of CSP, but that was almost 20 years ago, and for the life of me I couldn't understand how anyone could defend him after that disaster of a PC last year....

That said, it's possible he remains as is and hires another really good coach, but the likelihood of that to me is.....not likely, I would rather bring in someone new and fresh to make those decisions at this point.....we will see what happens....

 

[Treybad]

mediocrity will continue.

Rizzi will probably remain as HC....

 

[Bill]

I have to wonder how much of this report takes into account whether Loomis actually wants to be an NFL GM for the rest of his life. I mean, he may feel that he can enjoy his remaining years comfortably without the stresses of putting an NFL franchise within striking distance of the top teams. He may not be desiring all the work involved in the upcoming rebuild.

 

[longtime lurker]

Interesting names mentioned as potential Saints HC…I got that feeling too that he will go with someone who he is familiar with.

 

[Winter]

I mean nobody ever names an era of a team after the GM at the time. We call it the Jim Mora era, not the Jim Finks era.

Regardless, we don't know if it was Payton or Loomis really pushing for Brees or who made the final decision. But, considering that Payton was a young first time HC with no experience or history making personnel decisions, it seems likely Loomis at least made the final call on what at the time was a large contract and a lot of money from Mr. Benson.

But sure, Payton should get the vast majority of the credit. But Loomis should also get credit for hiring Payton, letting him do the job the way he wanted to without interference from the GM, and doing what was necessary to give Payton the players he wanted.

Anyway, as I said, I would prefer if they moved on by moving Loomis to a different role or letting him go, but I can see why one bad head coach hire and few years of mediocrity, might not be enough to Gayle Benson to fire or move Loomis out of the GM role. I also don't think it's a disaster if he stays since he's a solid GM, but if he stays he needs to hire a head coach that is good at talent evaluation so he can turn most of the draft decisions over to him.

I think that a lot of us might be eager to get rid of Loomis because the ball has started rolling with the firing of Allen. I think its a "what else can we fix?" mentality at the moment and I'm certainly guilty of it. Maybe Gayle stepping in and firing Allen is enough of a wake up call for the front office. I can see the argument for letting this off-season play out and giving Loomis, Lauscha, etc a chance to do it right. To find and hire that next Sean Payton. He is the most successful GM this franchise has ever had. I just question how much credit he should get for the 15 years Payton and Brees were here. Mainly because the current Saints feel very similar to the Saints before Payton. Stuck in mediocrity. Flirting with playoffs but never making it. Big plays and entertaining, but never in real contention for a title.

 

[AARPSaint]

And I’ll continue to pound the table that any move with Loomis needs to be done quickly so that the draft process can begin and a head coach can be hired.

The head coach hiring process begins when? Talking about interviews, not sneaking around the no tampering rules,

 

[St. Widge]

I think that a lot of us might be eager to get rid of Loomis because the ball has started rolling with the firing of Allen. I think its a "what else can we fix?" mentality at the moment and I'm certainly guilty of it. Maybe Gayle stepping in and firing Allen is enough of a wake up call for the front office. I can see the argument for letting this off-season play out and giving Loomis, Lauscha, etc a chance to do it right. To find and hire that next Sean Payton. He is the most successful GM this franchise has ever had. I just question how much credit he should get for the 15 years Payton and Brees were here. Mainly because the current Saints feel very similar to the Saints before Payton. Stuck in mediocrity. Flirting with playoffs but never making it. Big plays and entertaining, but never in real contention for a title.

I agree. I have a lot of sympathy for just wanting to clear house with the way things have gone the last 3 year and this year in particular. I have the same urge for a full house cleaning and a fresh start. But I just don't think it's a disaster if Loomis stays. I think he needs to do some things better particularly draft better, stop always trading up, and stop putting void years on the end of contracts for older players and stop pushing money into later years for older players that we might need to part with before their contract is up. But, I also think that has to some extent already started though I still think the drafting needs to be better.

So, I think I would prefer a new GM and I would certainly be excited by the possibilities, but I also know that there is no guarantee that you get a GM that is better than Loomis which could make things go from mediocre to really bad.

 

[St. Widge]

And I’ll continue to pound the table that any move with Loomis needs to be done quickly so that the draft process can begin and a head coach can be hired.

The head coach hiring process begins when? Talking about interviews, not sneaking around the no tampering rules,

I tend to think that if they do move on from Loomis by moving him to a new position or firing him, the most likely new GM would be Ireland so I'm not sure that would need to be done quickly since he is already running the draft stuff and is likely already part of the team considering who to interview for the HC job. Mueller who is also already on staff could be another possibility. Another possibility is that Khai Harley gets promoted to GM since he has gotten some buzz for GM jobs.

Honestly, I have thought for a few years that with Loomis hiring all these former GMs (Ireland, Meuller, and Dave Ziegler) he was preparing to move out of the GM job and promote one of those guys to GM.

So, I'm not sure that moving on from Loomis and hiring a new GM would end up being the house cleaning that many want.

 

[Chris]

I think that a lot of us might be eager to get rid of Loomis because the ball has started rolling with the firing of Allen. I think its a "what else can we fix?" mentality at the moment

I strongly disagree. Remember the fan favorite moniker "Make it happen, Loomis"? I've been saying for years that this was a dumb business model. As bad as DA was, he couldn't make any significant decisions without Loomis' approval. Our cap situation is one of the worst in the league because of bad contracts and endless restructuring. As you stated, the owner had to step in to try and right the ship because Loomis was content to "watch Rome burn". I refuse to give Loomis a pass on this. He's just as culpable as Allen, if not more so.

 

[Boy_of_wonder75]

He's also the one who allowed the future to be mortgaged in Payton's last years, then ran it back with Allen and now has a 4-8 team with no coach and no easy way to a better future. It goes both ways. The dismount from Payton and Brees could not have gone more poorly.

Agreed, he gets the appropriate credit and blame. But none of it means he is incapable of making the right hire again.

 

[Hedon James]

I tend to think that if they do move on from Loomis by moving him to a new position or firing him, the most likely new GM would be Ireland so I'm not sure that would need to be done quickly since he is already running the draft stuff and is likely already part of the team considering who to interview for the HC job. Mueller who is also already on staff could be another possibility. Another possibility is that Khai Harley gets promoted to GM since he has gotten some buzz for GM jobs.

Honestly, I have thought for a few years that with Loomis hiring all these former GMs (Ireland, Meuller, and Dave Ziegler) he was preparing to move out of the GM job and promote one of those guys to GM.

So, I'm not sure that moving on from Loomis and hiring a new GM would end up being the house cleaning that many want.

That's a keen observation and excellent point! I had noted the "former GM" hires, but didn't connect the dots like you just did. I saw it as hiring failed GMs to return them to roles they were good at; much like an excellent OC/DC fails as a HC, then returns to their previously successful role as OC/DC.

But now that you've said it out loud, I can easily see a scenario where an aging ML hired a bunch of former GMs and is waiting to see which of them distinguish themselves for promotion back into a GM position. I'm SPECULATING again, but I'd be comfortable wagering that you are correct. Appreciate you sharing that thought, I'm seeing that in a different light than before. I think you may be onto something?!

 

[Dome50]

Another thought. Loomis will turn 69 before next season. How much hunger/energy does he still have for this job?

 

[Saint Jack]

I think he just gets promoted out of GM.
Still gets the corner office and on the payroll

 

[AARPSaint]

I agree. I have a lot of sympathy for just wanting to clear house with the way things have gone the last 3 year and this year in particular. I have the same urge for a full house cleaning and a fresh start. But I just don't think it's a disaster if Loomis stays. I think he needs to do some things better particularly draft better, stop always trading up, and stop putting void years on the end of contracts for older players and stop pushing money into later years for older players that we might need to part with before their contract is up. But, I also think that has to some extent already started though I still think the drafting needs to be better.

So, I think I would prefer a new GM and I would certainly be excited by the possibilities, but I also know that there is no guarantee that you get a GM that is better than Loomis which could make things go from mediocre to really bad.

There are some awful GMs out there, for sure. In my view, they are the ones who splurge on a high priced player. It’s not worth it if the rest of the team is poor. And therefore, if said player gets hurt, then the team is in trouble.

 

[whodatbe]

Another thought. Loomis will turn 69 before next season. How much hunger/energy does he still have for this job?

I believe there is only 2 other GMs older than him. Mike Brown and Jerry Jones. Also they are the 3 longest current GMs, but obviously Jerry and Mike are not going to terminate themselves.