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Neither of us are sitting in on those interviews, nor privy to the selection criteria, but ON PAPER...I come to the same conclusion as you.
I think I like AG the best. He checks all my boxes. A leader of men, passionate, and seems to coax the best out of what he has to work with. He can build something from nothing. His defensive schemes seem to be plug'n'play...."next man up." While the Saints offense was decimated by injuries, the Lions defense has undergone similar experiences. Don't know about NOW, but about 2/3 to 3/4 through the season I was shocked to learn that the LIONS had the most "lost starts to injury" in the league. While the Saints were CRIPPLED from that, the Lions just kept plugging the next man into the system and kept winning games. Is it coaching? Scheme? Depth? A combination of factors? Whatever it is, AG has had a hand in it, and I want THAT for the Saints. His biggest weakness, IMO, is that he's a defensive coach in a league driven by offense. If he picks the wrong OC, the team will likely struggle and we'll be doing this again in 3-4 years. And if he picks the right OC, we're likely to be susceptible to that OC being poached for a HC position somewhere else. Best case scenario, the OC that AG picks will have a "system", and a QB coach who readily absorbs, implements, develops and/or designs alternative concepts to suit personnel (a "schemer" a la CSP!), so we're constantly developing our next OC on staff in anticpation of losing the current OC to someone else's HC offering. To be fair, we'll likely experience something similar with an offensive-minded coach, but we're more likely to experience "continuity" with an offensive HC in charge. It's not a deal-breaker in my eyes, but MIGHT be something that "tips the domino" in a tough decision.
McCarthy solves the offensive coach issues perceived to exist with AG. McCarthy has a nearly identical resume to CSP, in terms of background and results. But I have OTHER questions regarding McCarthy. Most of McCarthy's success was experienced in Green Bay, with a HOF QB and one of the best GM/scout departments in the league. How much input did McCarthy have on shaping those rosters? We all know a HOF QB can elevate an entire roster. How much of McCarthy's success was due to a HOF QB....or was the HOF QB a result of McCarthy's coaching? I look to McCarthy's tenure as Cowboy's coach for clues and still don't have answers. Inasmuch as Jones is known to be a meddler and a self-viewed "guru" of football matters, we can remove HOF QB and HOF GM/scouts as key components of any success earned. Jones has often picked good players, but his teams traditionally underperform expectations. Is it the coaching? Or is it the jock-sniffing media proclaiming Dallas as the "dark horse" every damn year, raising expectations higher than they should be, year after year? Seems like it's been Dallas' year for around 30 years straight now. LOL! Looking to the QB, I've never viewed Dak Prescott as a "franchise QB"....I see him as a very solid "average" to "good" QB....in a similar category as DC4. I don't think McCarthy has elevated Dak's game to the next level....he's remained "middling". Some of that may be attributable to Jones' meddling. But I do think McCarthy has done a good job developing BACKUP QBs that won some games in Dak's absence. It seems maybe McCarthy can develop QB talent, but is maybe limited on what he can do with the QB he is handcuffed to. Take a step back, and McCarthy has turned the Cowboys talented but perennially underperforming roster into a 12-5 annual playoff contender....until this season. That speaks to coaching, IMO. He has gotten an underperforming roster to perform. But he's been "one & done" in playoffs. Does Dallas only beat the weaker and marginal .500 teams, but lose to the good ones? Because that's what happens in the playoffs! Is it because the roster lacks "top end" difference makers, which is masked by coaching in regular seasons but gets revealed in the playoffs? Is it coaching? I'm interested in McCarthy, but I have very real concerns about him. Depending on answers to some tough questions, I could easily see an in-person interview either vaulting him to top of list, or crossing him off the list entirely. I see him as a "boom or purgatory" candidate. He's either gonna put it all together and win a 2nd SB with a 2nd franchise or, more likely, string together a series of 10-7+ seasons that challenge for playoff positions but never advance without a HOF QB under center. McCarthy does have an excellent track record with QBs. If he BELIEVES that QB is already on roster....or has a DEFINITIVE criteria to select a QB and the Saints commit to obtaining him that guy, McCarthy's might be the guy!
Brady is interesting to me also. He's got an offensive pedigree like CSP, and even worked under CSP in the Saints org; although only a short time...1 year? But in that year, apparently absorbed enough of the CSP offense to land a gig with LSU and bring many elements of the CSP offense to LSUs championship season. He had a LOT of talent to work with and, IMO, morphed a "pretty good" offense into an all-time great, NCAA record-breaking offense. So he can coach, and he can "elevate." But can he build? After LSU, he landed as OC for the Panthers under Rhule. While the Panthers offense was improved over previous years, there was a new QB, and other factors obscuring the view of the OC performance. We can't really tell how much of the improvement over prior year was due to QB, coaching, or something else. he only lasted 1 season and was sacrificed by the HC to cool the HCs hot seat. If we had 2-3 seasons of results, we'd know a lot more about Brady. But we don't. While I can't disregard this result, I'm not going to hold it against him either. Landed on his feet with the Bills as QB coach(?) and then promoted to OC when the OC was dismissed. Seems to have elevated Josh Allen's game to an MVP level, much like he did with Joe Burrow at LSU. Again proving he has the coaching chops to "elevate" offense. Granted, the Bills offense (like LSUs offense) was pretty good; but became GREAT once Brady got his hands on it. Once is a coincidence, twice is a trend. What I don't know, is whether Brady can BUILD something, or if he's just a "tweaker". And I don't know if he can SUSTAIN whatever he builds/tweaks. He hasn't been anywhere long enough to demonstrate either characteristic. I don't know that he CANNOT; but I don't know that he CAN. He's not at the top of my list, but once again...answers to tough questions will likely affect my perception of his candidacy.
I think the rest of the candidates the Saints are interviewing (including Rizzi) are JAGs (just another guy). The one guy I haven't seen on the list that I want them to consider is Liam Coen, OC of the Buccaneers. I think he's done an amazing job with the Bucs offense in the limited time he's been there. He has taken a handful of unknown and/or under-the-radar guys and turned them into a pretty solid unit. There was a lot of discussion on this forum whether the Saints should sign DC4 or Baker Mayfield to be the Saints QB 2 offseasons ago. Baker Mayfield was a hard "pass" for me, as I felt he had demonstrated his ceiling with 2 teams already. He gets a pass for his Browns tenure (although credit where credit is due....is the only Browns QB in recent history to take that team to the playoffs) and was a backup for the Rams. But I thought if he didn't blossom under McVay's tutelage in LA, and McVay was willing to let him move on...he was already maxed out as a QB. Perennial journeyman/backup. I was glad the Saints didn't sign him and even chuckled a little that the Bucs were "stuck" with him as likely starting QB. But Coen seems to have really elevated Mayfield's game to another level, as the Bucs OC. Mayfield is playing the best he's ever played, and that includes his playoff season with Browns. Considering the money the Bucs paid Mayfield to sign him, I think it's obvious they got the better deal when it comes to the QB situation. Or did they? Maybe they just got the better OC situation? It's my understanding the Saints wanted to interview Coen after DAs 1st season, but Coen turned down the offer. Not sure why ANYONE would burn the bridge of opportunity....what harm could come from an interview? And it seems like maybe the Saints remember being spurned in that moment. But MAYBE Coen looked at the Saints season like MANY of us Saints fans and concluded that DA wouldn't be here long, and was uncomfortable with future prospects of longer-term employment. That's a fair consideration for an "up and coming" coach. No one seems to be holding it against Ben Johnson, so I'm wondering if the Saints are holding it against Coen? But in my mind, there's a difference between being asked to interview for a position under a coach you don't think will have longevity; versus being asked to interview to BE THAT COACH who will be responsible to establish that longevity. I think it's safe to say that Coen's 1st season wasn't an anomaly, and he's duplicated that success with many/most of the same players, and a stretch of injuries mid-season. It appears that he can BUILD something, and seems to be maintaining. Why aren't we at least talking to the guy who might be exactly what we're looking for; with the added benefit of simultaneously weakening the current top dog in the position? Feels like we're leaving a stone unturned. JMO...
I don't think we know enough about candidates and their visions (yet), so I think it's too soon to say for certain. I know my OPINION could be swayed by future information learned. But if today was the deadline and I absolutely had to make that decision, with less than perfect information available, I think AG would be my choice. I think AG and McCarthy have similar floors, but I think AG might have a higher ceiling. AGs ceiling might be lower than McCarthy's, but I think AG has a potential (and a first timer's HUNGER!) to reach Lombardi status that McCarthy has already achieved.
My 2nd choice would be McCarthy, and 3rd Brady. While I think Brady MAY have the higher ceiling (similar argument as AG), he is also the most likely "bust" candidate. We just don't know what he is capable of building, or if he's capable of building at all. I expect to learn more and hear more about each, but as of TODAY, this is what I think. JMO...
It's my understanding
