The New Orleans Saints have coaching continuity for the first time in quite a while, and it sounds like they'll be taking full advantage of that.
Speaking Thursday from the Senior Bowl, Saints GM Mickey Loomis said the team is "unlikely" to make any staffing changes, though the team is still going through their offseason evaluations. Those have been slowed somewhat due to the nine coaches that were participating in all-star showcases over the past week.
To this point in the offseason there have been no firings, a departure from the past several seasons where the team rebuilt either its offense, defense or hired a new head coach every year since Sean Payton departed after the 2021 season. That would mean another season for special teams coordinator Phil Galiano, who led a maligned group that had its fair share of struggles as it dealt with significant change throughout the year. Head coach Kellen Moore pointed to that fact in his end-of-year comments when discussing the position group.
That continuity will benefit the roster, but just as importantly the scouting -- with coaches better able to inform the process.
"We kind of created a template for what we’re asking them to give back to us and, again, they did a great job of creating what we were looking for — or what they’re looking for," scouting director Jeff Ireland said, "and the clearer the vision of what they can give to us, the better we can go out and find it."
That was the case last year when the Saints took five Senior Bowl players, including QB Tyler Shough, safety Jonas Sanker and CB Quincy Riley, all of whom started a significant number of games in their rookie seasons and provide a bright future for the current group.
"We went after high makeup, high character, highly intelligent players that had production in college," Ireland continued, "and look, we hit on some guys and that’s — the same process remains that we’ve had since I’ve been here.”
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COACHING CLINIC
The Saints have often had coaches participate in the Senior Bowl, but that's to the extreme this year. They have the head coach (Joel Thomas), OC (Scott Tolzien), DC (Peter Sirmon) and Special Teams coordinator (Kyle Wilber), all on the American Team.
What that's allowed is for the scouting staff to focus their efforts on the National Team roster, trusting that the coaches will come back with the necessary intel to get the best of both ends. The scouting staff has also made it clear with coaches where they want to see players work across multiple positions, a unique advantage with the current setup.
DEMARIO'S FUTURE
Saints LB Demario Davis made waves this week with some comments suggesting he's open to testing free agency for the first time since joining the Saints in 2018. That's the case because he currently enters the offseason without a contract.
Here's what Mickey Loomis had to say: "We love Demario, we want him to be back and hope he’s back, but, you know, we’ll get through that.”
PROTOTYPE CHANGES
The Saints new defense means a few new markers to watch at multiple positions, but particularly edge rusher. With the need for 3-4 outside linebackers who can drop into coverage, that means a host of players -- think smaller speed rushers -- are now in play that never were under the previous system.
It means more potential winning draft picks, which is valuable at a position the Saints have struggled to find impact players in recent years. The most recent pick was the most glaring miss in Isaiah Foskey, a player who was off the roster before his third NFL season after being selected No. 40 overall. Ireland had a blunt and honest assessment of the situation.
"You have to go back and analyze why you made the mistake, and I did that quite quickly after we kind of started seeing some of the deficiencies that we saw once [Foskey] was here," he said. "So, you try not to make that mistake twice, that’s for sure. But there’s processes in place to do that and we do it pretty well.”
WAITING GAME
The Saints aren't blowing smoke when they say there's been no decisions made on several key veterans and potential extensions. They're very much taking their time. Alvin Kamara is off doing what Alvin Kamara does during the offseason (I've heard he's on the slopes somewhere). The team has also given Taysom Hill space as he mulls what comes next. There's no rush, and they won't operate as if there is one. Get comfortable, this could take a while.
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KEEP AN EYE ON
1. Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech
There's nothing that's going to jump off the page from a measurables perspective for Rodriguez, but there are good reasons he rolled up 117 tackles (along with 7 forced fumbles) for a Red Raiders squad that won the Big 12 and found its way into the College Football Playoff this season. Rodriguez was the Big-12 Defensive Player of the Year and won the Chuck Bednarik Award handed out to the nation's top linebacker. He's just a through and through football player.
"I just want to show that I love football. I’m here for a reason. That’s just to play football," he told me. "They can watch the tape and see how I play football and know that it’s a physical brand and it’s one that wants to take the ball away, but my thing is I’m just happy to be here, happy to play football."
And the tape is definitely impressive. Rodriguez had several big hits (or what would qualify as a big hit in practice), forced a fumble and intercepted a pass on Day 2 of practices. He reminds me a lot of Danny Stutsman. Just saying.
2. Ja'Kobi Lane, WR, USC
An easy guy to overlook because he wasn't even the best WR on his own college roster, the frame and ability is clear to see. At 6-4, 194 pounds Lane could certainly stand to bulk up to some degree, that size and deep threat ability could be a lethal combination at the NFL level.
I see a young Marquez Valdes-Scantling. He had back-to-back wins on deep balls in Wednesday's practice and I expect the hits to keep coming.
3. Barian Brown, WR, LSU
This is a guy I don't need to describe all that much, considering he burning up the grass at Tiger Stadium this past season. But man, you watch him move around next to other pro potential players and he moves with burst and suddenness that is rare.
I don't know exactly what mode he'll fill at the NFL level, but I do think the new kickoff is here to stay and that will mean teams prioritizing return aces again at a higher degree. Just think of what Rashid Shaheed has meant to the Seahawks in that role as they made their run to the Super Bowl.
I don't know what his upside will be as a traditional WR, but I expect him to land somewhere and give kickers some rough afternoons before too long.