How long should a successful rebuild take? (15 Viewers)

[ravenblade23x]

I did not read any comments but I can tell you the real answer. There is no definable time table for a complete rebuild. The reason is very simple, everything about the NFL is a lottery.

It starts with the QB. Every year teams take chances both in the draft and FA, hoping to hit the jackpot and find there next franchise QB, and every year teams bust.

Next is the coach, and yes as we all know, coaching is very important. I have no doubts that some very talented QB's have had potential careers destroyed do to poor coaching.

Then of course there is the draft as a whole. We have already seen both how one draft can drastically boost a team, but also how years of poor drafting can lead to aging vets and a lack of young talent.

The NFL is a crapshoot. You need to nail the QB and coach and then you need to hit on the draft to surround the team with quality players in all the important positions.

With all these variables at play you can get very lucky and maybe it takes a few years or very unlucky and your stuck in purgatory for years and for some teams its been decades.

 

[Saint Greg]

It will take however long it takes for us to put together a couple drafts like the 2016 and 2017 drafts. 10 starters, 4 all-pros. If we do it in 2025 and 2026 we will be contenders in 2026.

 

[Bill]

I did not read any comments but I can tell you the real answer. There is no definable time table for a complete rebuild. The reason is very simple, everything about the NFL is a lottery.

It starts with the QB. Every year teams take chances both in the draft and FA, hoping to hit the jackpot and find there next franchise QB, and every year teams bust.

Next is the coach, and yes as we all know, coaching is very important. I have no doubts that some very talented QB's have had potential careers destroyed do to poor coaching.

Then of course there is the draft as a whole. We have already seen both how one draft can drastically boost a team, but also how years of poor drafting can lead to aging vets and a lack of young talent.

The NFL is a crapshoot. You need to nail the QB and coach and then you need to hit on the draft to surround the team with quality players in all the important positions.

With all these variables at play you can get very lucky and maybe it takes a few years or very unlucky and your stuck in purgatory for years and for some teams its been decades.

Interestingly you left out ‘injuries’. Nothing can derail a rebuild quicker than having a series of key injuries that keep your playmakers on the sidelines for much of the season. While all teams have injuries, sometimes these become so overwhelming that it is impossible for a team to make progress during a rebuild.

 

[ravenblade23x]

Interestingly you left out ‘injuries’. Nothing can derail a rebuild quicker than having a series of key injuries that keep your playmakers on the sidelines for much of the season. While all teams have injuries, sometimes these become so overwhelming that it is impossible for a team to make progress during a rebuild.

I get what your saying to some extent but if you draft a Allen/Mahomes level QB, even losing them for one season put's you miles ahead of must teams. I would rather be the team with an elite QB, great coach and roster that has a bad injury year vs. a healthy team that's filled with mediocrity.

The fact that it's often referred to as injury luck, kind of just exemplifies that main point I was trying to make, landing a SB caliber team just requires a lot of luck.

 

[jasonsw]

Saints did it instantly after 2005. The nfl.is a bell curve. There are 3 or 4 excellent teams, 3 or 4 really bad ones. Then there are on either side 5 mediocre teams. Then the rest of the league the teams are pretty much equal in overall talent.

So with the exception of a couple teams a rebuild can happen very fast. Miss the playoffs one year, make it the next and be a really good team.

 

[DerrickB]

It depends if the people are in place.

 

[texasjefe]

Not next year because Carr, and deadcap$.

Maybe a turnaround the following year with a 1st or 2nd year HC, when there are two additional draft classes added.

However long it takes, it will go faster once Loomis enters a salary cap rehab facility.

 

[Treybad]

We get a new GM with his New Coach... I am guessing 3 years but that is only if we find a franchise QB.... without one the years will get longer... till we find one....

 

[EASports24]

3 years. Payton did it twice. He started in 2006 and won it all in 2009. They again tore it down in 2014 and was elite by 2017/8. The problem is the QB position.

It’s looking like he is doing it again in Denver as well.

 

[EASports24]

I would start off by if you are wanting a true rebuild, then it's going to be tough for a couple years. First is to get salary cap in order. Let what you can go that is high priced and doesn't produce. Can't let them all go but specific ones that we can. Draft very well to get talent and lower pay. And if you reset your cap and draft well I would say within 3 years you should be real competitive and by year 4 making a good run.
Now this is if you do a true rebuild and not bring in a high priced QB and others.

As in Spencer rattler turning out to be a good qb on a rookie deal like the 49ers with Purdy ?

 

[solarbear88]

2-3 years if you find a sound QB situation. Forever if you don't.

 

[saintfan1972]

As in Spencer rattler turning out to be a good qb on a rookie deal like the 49ers with Purdy ?

It would be helpful if he did. Not sure on that, but I would like to see more snaps for him.

 

[Icon]

My memory may be off. Perhaps it was 2015. But we got rid of a ton of starters, particularly on defense, changed coordinators and had 3 seasons of 7-9 while we rebuilt the roster.

Right.....2015 is the answer, but you're correct in the sense that the Saints moved on from multiple starters after 2013.

We were legit preseason favorites in 2014, because of supposed upgrades. Losing Will Smith wasn't supposed to really matter because Junior had a big season in '13. Losing Malcolm Jenkins wasn't supposed to matter because of Jairus Byrd. Losing Sproles wasn't supposed to matter because his stats had been steadily declining each season (in fairness, dude set the bar ridiculously high in 2011, there was pretty much nowhere else to go but down).

 

[Clintonrebel]

2005-2006 Saints took one year.

 

[St. Widge]

Bengals fans will tell you it takes more than just the right QB.

Kind of. That QB carried them to a Super Bowl already. Their issue is more that they couldn't sustain the initial success. But that's mostly an ownership issue and ownership is nearly as important as the right QB.

Regardless, you are right that it take more than the right QB, but it's a lot easier and faster once you have that QB and it's easier to sustain that success by keeping him long term. It can be done with a mi-tier QB, but you have to hit on a lot more players in the draft and mid-tier QBs tend to fall off quickly.