The New Orleans Saints are expected to stick with Pete Carmichael as offensive coordinator, but that doesn't mean all is staying the same.
It's a topic that was discussed at length on SportsTalk with Mike Detillier and Bobby Hebert on Thursday, and there was one key agreement: Changes still need to be made, it's just a matter of how.
"This is a surprise to me," Detiller said, reacting to the news first reported by Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.football. "This is a football team offensively last year that had no identity on offense. They couldn’t run the ball very well at all, and, man, you’ve got to make some changes here. A lot of people go ‘oh, continuity is great.’ Continuity is great if you’re successful. But if you’re not successful then you’ve got to do something different.
"You can feel that way as an organization, and that’s all great and fine, but if you want things to change, you’ve got to do it differently.”
Listen to the full conversation from SportsTalk in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
It's a fair point, after a surprisingly efficient start to the season that saw the Saints in the top 10 in many key metrics at the midway point, the team finished 19th in yards per game, 22nd in points and 24th in average time of possession. The Saints' offense not only waned in the latter stages of the season, but also in games. The Saints didn't manage a touchdown in the fourth quarter of their final 8 games, and didn't score in the second half of their final two.
So what can happen? WWL's Bobby Hebert has a suggestion: Let Ronald Curry step in to call plays, with Carmichael returning to his traditional role as the primary coordinator and game-planner.
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“I think Pete Carmichael knows his wheelhouse as far as setting up the game plan," Hebert said. "You’d always see him right there by Sean and Drew, the three-headed monster. … I could see as far as Pete Carmichael, still a big part of the offense, but he might help Ronald Curry and put his input that way."
While slightly unusual, it wouldn't be that far from the setup that the Saints maintained through the first 13 seasons with Carmichael in the OC role. Outside of the 2012 season when Sean Payton was suspended, the head coach called the plays with Carmichael working in the background. It was Carmichael who served as the backup play-caller. This past season it was the QBs coach, Curry, in that role. He got his chance to test his play-calling chops in the preseason, a role previously handled by Carmichael.
The Saints haven't given any indication as of yet that Curry might be in line for such a step forward, but it certainly an option for a team that likely can't feel comfortable standing pat at OC and quarterback after a season that flailed to 7-10 and went out with a 7-point whimper against a Panthers team that had been eliminated from the playoffs and was decimated by injuries in the secondary. Curry will also get a chance to show off his play-calling chops at the Senior Bowl, where he'll serve as the OC on Bears DC Patrick Graham's squad.
“Dennis Allen is focused on the defense," Hebert said. "I still think he has confidence in Pete Carmichael, and it’s very similar to what he did with Sean.”
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