If it wasn't already made clear by the team's offseason actions, Mickey Loomis was asked directly on the eve of the Saints' first training camp practice.
Is this iteration of the Saints built to win?
"There's so many variables that go into a season but yea, this isn't a rebuild. That's the best way to describe it," Loomis said. "Yea, we think we can win now."
And as the team embarks on its 2022 training camp, that's the right thing to say. With how the team has operated to this point, anything else would've been a contradiction. This is a team that let big names in Marcus Williams and Terron Armstead walk in free agency, but also one that aggressively traded for an extra first-round pick this year. It's also a team that leveraged even more assets to go up in the first round for a wide receiver.
If this team wasn't committed to winning in Year 1 under Dennis Allen and with Jameis Winston manning the ship at quarterback, those moves would've been a lot more difficult to justify.
This is a team with expectations, because it's grown accustomed to being a team with expectations. A step back and rebuild might've made sense following the retirements of franchise cornerstones in Drew Brees and Sean Payton in back-to-back years. The team did anything but.
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"I think all of us would say we didn’t have many expectations in ’06. But after that we’ve had high expectations, and I like that," Loomis said. "I think Dennis [Allen] likes that. Our team likes to have high expectations. And so we have high expectations for this year."
Those expectations will likely hinge on availability for a number of reasons. The health of Jameis Winston's surgically repaired left knee. The health of Michael Thomas' long-injured ankle. The health of young pass-rushers Marcus Davenport and Payton Turner. Whether Alvin Kamara lands a lengthy suspension stemming from an offseason arrest.
Thomas and Davenport will begin the year on the Physically Unable to Perform list, and both are expected back soon. The other injured players are all in positive situations, particularly Taysom Hill (lisfranc) and Marcus Maye (Achilles), both of whom are expected to be a full go at the start of camp.
The team went into the offseason with "musts, needs and wants." The musts and needs have been addressed. Some of the wants still remain, even after the signings of fan-favorites in Jarvis Landry and Tyrann Mathieu and a first-round pick spent on presumptive future LT Trevor Penning.
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If this team does win now, it'll mean the Saints shifted from the Brees-Payton era with zero downturn. If not, a rebuild might be back on the table. Only time will tell, but Allen knows his role as the head coach of the Saints holds a lot more significance than might meet the eye.
“I understand the role of the head coach in this city, and it’s a little bit different than other places. And so I understand that, I appreciate that and I welcome that. It’s exciting," he said. "I know that this city loves its football team and has a close connection with this football team and I know what it means to this city when we have success. That’s a responsibility that we all take on.”
That responsibility only gets heavier from this point on.