The Saints are midway through their first head coaching interview cycle in 16 seasons, and they won't be rushing into any decision.
But there is a common thread as the Saints' brass works toward choosing the team's next leader, as GM Mickey Loomis explained Wednesday afternoon from the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. Because every coaching candidate will be asking the same question.
"We’re replacing Drew Brees and Sean Payton, so [these decisions are] pretty important," Loomis said. "Look, it’s a question that every candidate’s gonna have: ‘Hey, who’s the quarterback gonna be. What are your thoughts?’ That's a collaborative decision. ... So we’ll just go through that process and determine who those are and we’ll come up with a collective preference.”
It was an answer that won't offer any hints as to the future at quarterback in New Orleans, but it does hold some insight into the mechanics of how those decisions will play out. While a new coach will have major sway in the QB room, the decisions won't be made entirely on their preference. Still, Loomis wouldn't delve into specific roster decisions until the head coach is in place, and he knows making the right choice is more important than making it fast. The team has completed three official interviews, with at least three more expected.
One of those interviews came in Mobile with former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, who grabbed national headlines after filing a class-action lawsuit on Tuesday alleging racial discrimination in hiring across the NFL landscape. Loomis declined to go into specifics about the team's interview with Flores, though he expressed that they went well and the team came away impressed. After the interview was completed, Flores made the team aware of the impending lawsuit. It wasn't specified who attended the interview with Flores, though Loomis stated previously that team owner Gayle Benson, team President Dennis Lauscha and additional personnel would be involved throughout the process.
“He’s very impressive, and we had a great interview," Loomis said. "It went well.”
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The team was hopeful to interview former Bills OC Brian Daboll, but he was hired by the Giants. That hiring was coincidentally at the center of Flores' lawsuit, with mistaken texts from Patriots coach Bill Belichick to Flores submitted as evidence that the Giants made their decision prior to Flores' scheduled interview.
The Saints' coaching search has also been linked to Bucs OC Byron Leftwich, former Eagles coach Doug Pederson, Lions OC Aaron Glenn, as well as current DC Dennis Allen and special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi. Loomis also left the door open for even more candidates to emerge before the search is complete.
But whomever ultimately lands as the pick to succeed Payton in New Orleans, Loomis won't be downplaying the weight and importance on that decision. The GM's memory is a bit hazy about how things developed 16 years ago, but he knows the circumstances are different this time. He's not the one trying to sell the Saints as a destination this time -- it's the coaches making the sales pitch for themselves. Regardless, the team is hopeful that the final result will be similar.
"It’s the face of the franchise. It’s the direction that we’re gonna be headed," Loomis said. "It’s a really important decision, and yea, I’d like it be someone who coaches here for 16 years and has a lot of wins like the last one. ... None of us are taking this lightly. We’re looking for someone who can lead our team for the long run.”
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