The New Orleans Saints announced three roster moves Tuesday morning, the fourth was announced by the New York Giants.
Longtime Saints running backs coach Joel Thomas has been hired into the same role for the New York Giants, which means New Orleans has another job to fill. The Saints announced the firings of OC Pete Carmichael, WRs coach Kodi Burns and offensive assistant Bob Bicknell earlier in the day.
The departure of Thomas, who has been with the Saints since 2015, is an interesting one in the sense that they chose to let it happen. NFL teams can block lateral moves, but the Saints opted to allow Thomas to interview in New York. The Saints began their coaching evaluations this week, and while Thomas was not within the first round of cuts, it's clear the team was ready to move on.
The change makes sense considering ample struggles in the running game throughout much of the season. No Saints RB had any single carry go for longer than 19 yards, and that run was by Tony Jones Jr. High-profile free agent signing Jamaal Williams struggled mightily, with his 2.9 yards per carry average marking the lowest of his NFL career.
Alvin Kamara was still productive with 1,190 total yards and 6 touchdowns, but it was far from efficient, averaging under 4.0 yards per carry for just the second time in his seven NFL seasons.
The shakeup of the offensive staff was expected after another up-and-down season that finished at 9-8, but outside of the postseason for the third time in as many seasons. Both teams that also finished at 9-8 but won tiebreakers in the Packers and Bucs advanced to the divisional round with wins over NFC East powers in the Eagles and Cowboys.
