In a spirited defense of head coach Dennis Allen this week, Saints GM Mickey Loomis pointed to a three-year stretch of Sean Payton's career during which he says he heard similar rumblings.
My only issue is that I think he picked the wrong one. The state the Saints find themselves in heading into 2024 isn't resembling the first three seasons under Sean Payton, it resembles a stretch in the not so recent past.
The Saints right now are in a similar situation to 2017, a season the Saints entered following three consecutive 7-9 campaigns and certainly there were rumblings about the head coach and an aging quarterback. The standards that made the team great had laxed. There was even a well-documented sitdown between team leader Zach Strief and Payton to get things out in the open.
The Saints responded by getting back to their core beliefs and standards, nailing the 2017 draft and kicking off a run of success that included 49 wins and just 15 losses through the 2020 season, though the postseason results ultimately fell short.
Perhaps that's why Loomis' tone during his 57-minute press conference wasn't one of a man necessarily seeking answers, but one who has found them before and feels as if he and his team can do so again.
"I think sometimes the easy thing to do, the lazy thing to do is look at the results of the season and say, ah, it’s the coach’s fault or it’s the quarterback’s fault," Loomis said. "I think oftentimes you have to look beyond that."
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The Saints didn't get out of their rut in 2017 by firing the head coach or benching the quarterback. They did it by improving on defense, led at that point by Dennis Allen, and leaning on their stars.
This time around it's the offense that is being rebuilt around a different quarterback in Derek Carr, with the search for an offensive coordinator underway and at least two new coaches coming in the RB and WR rooms.
There was also some reason for optimism late in the year with Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed continuing to show as a dynamic tandem, while A.T. Perry and Juwan Johnson made their presence felt as big-bodied pass-catchers and Kendre Miller flashed his explosive potential in the season finale. The Saints have an aging and veteran-laden roster, but also young pieces that should be intriguing to watch over the next several years.
But the GM also made it clear he's putting a burden on himself to make changes. Loomis notably met with the team at the end of the season, though he won't share the messaging. Whether it referenced preparation, recovery, dedication, it was for the players' ears only, and it was received how he'd hoped. But he did share why it had to happen.
“I think maybe we’ve gotten a little too comfortable over the last few years," Loomis said, "and so I want to make it uncomfortable.”
The same messaging goes for everyone in the building, himself included. Loomis admitted that he had personally relaxed a bit too much, and that had to change. That perspective was reflected in a high-energy media session that was criticized for some questionable head coach comparisons and gum chewing, but was otherwise a clear shift from the typical stoic personality we've seen in those interviews over the past several seasons.
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"I think we need enthusiasm," Loomis said. "I think we need a boost in energy and excitement in our building and so that, again, that – all that stuff starts with me.”
Will those incremental changes be enough? Can this team reflect its roots under Payton and have a sustained run of success? Is Allen the right coach to trust in steering the time along that path? It all remains to be seen after a 9-8 campaign that represented the head coach's first winning season in his 5th year as an NFL head coach (three with the Raiders), but still felt like a massive disappointment considering the schedule and a wide-open NFC South.
Again, Loomis has been here before. But what happens if the ball misses the backboard entirely and there's no rebound to grab onto? We didn't have to find out in 2017. The Saints will hope that's the case again in 2024, because that's the only way this team will survive much longer in its current interation.
"I’m excited about the potential of our team," Loomis said. "But we’ve got to do it. We’ve got to perform.”