The big news for the New Orleans Saints this week: There's no big news coming.
The Saints, despite significant outside noise calling for the contrary, will not be moving on from offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael this offseason. The news was first reported by Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.Football.
That means the longtime Saints OC will be returning for his 15th consecutive season in that role, and his second as lead play-caller under Dennis Allen as head coach.
There was one coaching move made Thursday, however, with the team and TE coach/run game coordinator Dan Roushar parting ways. It had been Roushar's second season in that role after being shifted from offensive line coach prior to the 2021 season. Brendan Nugent served one season in the OL coach role before being replaced by Doug Marrone for the 2022 season.
If the Saints do end up rolling with Carmichael at OC again, it'll mean he and Allen's second year as a duo comes under a growing microscope and with more and more questions. It's still unclear who will be the team's quarterback going forward. Andy Dalton started the final 14 games of the 2022 season, but he's set to become an unrestricted free agent and is 35 years old. Jameis Winston started the first three games of the season but suffered significant foot and back injuries that kept him out for multiple games. By the time he was healthy enough to return to the field, his job was gone. Winston is under contract for the 2023 season, but it remains to be seen if that bridge could be mended even if the Saints wanted him back as starting QB.
The Saints also do not currently have a first-round pick in the 2023 draft, though that could change based on what happens with former head coach Sean Payton, who is in the process of interviewing with teams that might opt to hire and trade for him. The offense does feature a handful of young playmakers, but is it enough to be a serious contender in the NFC?
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How the Saints answer those questions could end up determining the future of this head coaching regime and -- at least for now -- it appears Carmichael will be the man that takes another stab at answering them. There were positives from this season on offense. The Saints were No. 2 in the NFL in plays of 40-plus yards (13), the combined QB rating of 93.6 was good for No. 11 in the NFL, they ranked No. 10 in yards per play (5.6), and Taysom Hill's usage was its most creative and encouraging yet, with the dual-threat weapon setting career highs in rushing (575) and total TDs (11). Rookie Chris Olave also finished the year with 72 catches for 1,042 yards, the second most by a Saints rookie in franchise history.
But it's how the offense waned in the latter stages of both the season and individual games that hold the biggest concerns. Through the first half of the season the Saints were among the NFL's best in yards and points per game, averaging just shy of 25 points over the first 8 weeks of the season. That scoring efficiency dropped to just under 15 points per game over the final nine games. The Saints were shut out for the first time since 2001, and failed to score in the second half of both Week 17 and 18.
The Saints finished the season 7-10, its worst record since 2005.
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