Fixing the New Orleans Saints In the Offseason..
Fixing the New Orleans Saints In the Offseason..
The Saints have a lot of things to figure out over the next several months. Even though the season just ended, New Orleans is having to debrief after a lost year and will need to work on the 2024 plan now to better position themselves when they take the field again in June for mandatory minicamp. It’s not going to be easy. It’s not going to be popular. It’s going to take a lot of things to turn it around. We can obviously bring things to the surface and fill in the blanks on what needs to happen in some areas. However, what would a full plan of attack consist of for New Orleans? Here’s my school of thought to fix the team and address what areas are the most important to tackle over the next 100 days.
Most of the changes we should expect for the Saints will be on the offensive side, as it should be. While everything feels like it should be on the table, my personal vote would be to keep Ronald Curry (quarterbacks/passing game coordinator), Kodi Burns (wide receivers) and Clancy Barone (tight ends). After that, it’s all up for a heavy and thorough evaluation.
Pete Carmichael Jr. would obviously be the biggest name the Saints could replace. Respectfully, New Orleans has had the same offense for the past 17 years. Some of the parts and pieces have evolved and changed, but the basic concept has been there for a long time. Fresh ideas and a new perspective would be welcomed, and while the team unlocked things down the stretch, it was just inconsistent. Coaching and game planning can easily spell the differences between wins and losses, and we saw too much of it in 2023.
Doug Marrone and Kevin Carberry had the offensive line ready to go and figured things out after some major struggles early in the season, but one of the most concerning things moving forward is Trevor Penning. He couldn’t even see jumbo work in garbage time with injuries that went to a practice squad offensive lineman. That’s really troubling. New Orleans has to get him the right mentor or coach this offseason, or it’s going to just go down as a massive bust.
Anything beyond the main components of the offensive line and offensive coordinator could be on the table, but we’ll have to see how it takes shape exactly.
Defensively, I feel good about keeping everything in place. Michael Hodges (linebackers) could be a coach to watch. He’s done a tremendous job for years with the group, and it won’t be surprising to see someone give him an extended look for something.