Latest / AFR Saints / Saints Set For Biggest Franchise Decision Since 2006, Sean Payton

Transcript

Saints Set For Biggest Franchise Decision Since 2006, Sean Payton · AFR Saints

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: AFR on Demand is brought to you by Breck Golf.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Try Beaver Creek today, just twenty minutes from downtown Baton
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Rouge in the Zachary area. They've got a PGA toward
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: driving range, a short game practice area, thirty to forty
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: yard practice shots. It's a great place to chip and
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: putt and practice. If you don't have time for a
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: full round, book your tea time today. Golf dot Breck
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: dot org. Golf dot Breck dot org. Well, the first
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: New Orleans Saints Sunday of twenty twenty five ended, like
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: so many New Orleans Saints Sundays of twenty twenty four,
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: with a loss. Here was Darren Rizzy after the Saints
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: grabbed the throat against Tampa twenty seven to nineteen.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: Real good effort by us in the first half. Unfortunately
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: they kind of flipped the script on us in the
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: second half, and some of the things that we have
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: been defishing at appeared again, things like third down, not
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: finishing in the red zone. Some penalties obviously, whether they
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: were questionable or not, they were still pet they were
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: still called, and and so some of those things were,
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: you know, we're obviously self inflicted errors. That cost us
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: the game.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: I will spend roughly four seconds on this football game
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: because quite honestly, the result of this football game is
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: largely inconsequential to the bigger picture New Orleans Saints conversation,
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: which is massively influential and consequential for the future of
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: this organization. But this was a miserable season that was
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: defined by injuries, the first in season coaching change since
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: Jimora in nineteen ninety six. And it is mercifully over.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: The Saints did some good. There were four drives of
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: ten plays or more, four scoring drives of ten plays
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: or more. My buddy Chris Marler over Louisiana Sports done
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: net toil me. This's the first time that's happened in
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: a Saints game since nineteen ninety two. Marler said it.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: It's got to be real, right, that's incredible. Blake Gruby
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: was four for four on field goals. You had to
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: get points. You kept getting points. You led by ten
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: and a half. Spencer Rattler was efficiently protected the football.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: He was twenty six of forty two with a touchdown,
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: no interceptions. You couldn't run the ball a lick, so
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: he had to throw it more than you would have liked.
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: But at least he protected the football. That's progress. The
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: bad is you allowed nearly six yards to carry. And
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: really the game was defined by two series in the
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: second half, where Jordan Howden gets the interception, You get
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: the ball deep in Tampa territory, you set for a
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: field goal, ensuing drive, they go to punt, the punter
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: miss it, drops the ball. He just shanks a fourteen
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: yarder back to back possession start in Tampa territory, and
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: you got no points there. You went negative seven yards
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: and punted. And then that's when they scored on the
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: ensuing drive, converting a fourth and eight. Baker hit McMillan
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: on the touchdown. They took the lead and never gave
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: it up. So the same season is over. And actually,
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: actually there was a smidge of good in this loss
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: because the Chicago Bears went and won a game. Chicago
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: went up to Green Bay and they beat the Packers.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: They tried to give it away. They fumbled with about
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: with about a minute left in the game. The Bears
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: as they were trying to run out the clock. The
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: Packers hit a fifty five yarder take the lead. And
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: then I'll be damned, Caleb Williams gets the ball, the
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: Bears go down, and they kick the game winning field goal,
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: and ultimately it allowed the Saints to move up a spot.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: So instead of drafting tenth, the Saints leapfrog the Bears
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: and will draft ninth in this upcoming draft. So actually,
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: the loss did you some good. It kept the Falcons
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: out of the playoffs and you moved up in the draft.
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: So check check. But what is next is actually what
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: is most important for the New Orleans Saints, because this
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: is going to be the most important decision that the
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: Saints make as an organization since two thousand and six.
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: And I'm not trying to I'm not trying to wax
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: poet ah attack or hyperbolic here. The bottom line is
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: the New Orleans Saints are in as bad a situation
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: organizationally as they have been since two thousand and six
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: after the five season, when they when three and thirteen.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: They were a vagabond team post Katrina. They didn't know
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: if they had a city, a dome, a facility to
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: come home to, and you had to go hire a
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: coach amid that. Now, I'm not gonna say this situation
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: is as bad as that one. I mean, you literally
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: didn't even know if the organization was returning to New Orleans.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: But it's the worst it's been since then. Now, some
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: ballheaded dope told you when Sean Payton retired, that boy,
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: you know the the reason we should celebrate the Peyton
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: breeze eras because for four decades the Saints were a laughingstock,
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: the worst franchise in the NFL, and the work those
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: two did over fifteen years guaranteed it would never get
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: that bad again. And that ball headed dope is talking
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: to you right now. I never thought that, with the
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: stability and the foundation built over a decade and a half,
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: it would unravel that quickly. But here we are in
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: as bad a situation as the New Orleans Saints have
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: seen since the day Sean Payton took over. Y'all, you
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: want to how bad it is. There's five NFL head
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: coaching jobs open right now. The New Orleans Saints have
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: the worst cap situation. If you don't believe me, I'll
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: show you. For those of you who are watching, if
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: you're listening, I'll just tell you here's the salary cap
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: numbers for twenty twenty five for every NFL team, the
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: New Orleans Saints. You guessed it, dead last negative seventy
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: eight point four million dollars. Again, So the Saints right
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: now are seventy eight million over the projected cap for
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: twenty twenty five. The next closest team pull that back up, Polly, please.
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: The next closest team, the Cleveland Browns, nineteen million with
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: the cap. The New Orleans Saints are sixty million dollars
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: over the cap, more than the next closest team. Not
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: only do they have the worst cap situation in the NFL,
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: it ain't remotely close. By the way. The other jobs
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: that are open New England one hundred and thirty one
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: million in cap space, they're number one, number six, Chicago
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: one hundred excuse me, eighty one million in cap space.
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: They're the sixth best cap situation for next year. The
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: other jobs that are open, Jacksonville is number eighteen, They've
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: got forty million dollars in cap space. And then the
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: Jets are twenty first with thirty million dollars in cap space.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: You're at negative seventy eight million, by far, the worst
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: cap situation. You don't have a franchise quarterback. The teams
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: we just mentioned. Oh well, New England they have Drake
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: May and jury's out. But at least you have a
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: guy you drafted to be your franchise quarterback, young talented guy.
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: Chicago they got Caleb Williams number one pick of the draft.
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: This past year. Jacksonville has Trevor Lawrence. I understand hasn't
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: played like it, but we've seen Trevor Lawrence be a
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: playoff quarterback in this league, and two years ago we
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: thought that's the guy that everyone thought he would be. Now,
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: the Jets have a murky situation with Rogers and what
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: may happen there, But the three of the five that
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: are open have really good quarterback situations. And again, the
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: Jets have thirty million in cap space and they're drafting four.
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: Where are the Jets drafting? Let me said, anyway, I
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: think they're fourth. Anyway, So you get the worst cap situation.
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: You got no franchise quarterback. Oh, by the way, you've
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: got an aging roster with bad contracts. If this is
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: depressing you, it should, But I'm just being reality. I'm
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: just painting this picture in reality of what the Saints are.
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: Here are your highest cap hits in order on the
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: twenty twenty five roster. Are you ready? New Orleans Saints
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: twenty twenty five roster highest to lowest cap hits. Highest
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: cap hit thirty four year old Derek Carr fifty one
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: point four million dollars. Next highest cap hit thirty one
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: year old Ryan Ramchick, whose career is likely over. He's
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: going to cost you twenty nine million dollars. Next Cameron
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: Jordan thirty six years old, twenty million dollars. Next Taysom
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: Hill thirty five years old, seventeen point nine million dollars.
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: I'm not making this up. Eric McCoy's next twenty eight
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: years old, fifteen point four million. Then Peyton Turner is next,
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: twenty six years old, thirteen point three million dollars. Of
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: course they're not going to exercise his fifth year option.
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: But then' to Mario Davis at thirty six years old,
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: twelve point four million dollars, Caesar Ruiz, Carl Granderson, y'all like,
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: I'm not making this up. You have the worst cap
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: situation in the NFL, You have no franchise quarterback, and
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: your aging roster of overpaid aging veterans are the worst
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: in the league. Their highest paid players this is an
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: atrocious situation. And oh, by the way, you need to
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: hire a head coach. Tell me what candidate, what candidate
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: would look at this and go, let's got come in,
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: let's go. Every job that's open isn't just better than
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: the New Orleans job, it's light years better, Like the
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: Saints aren't even in the conversation. You could maybe say
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: the Jets because of their historical lack of success and
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: their question around quarterback. But maybe Rogers comes back could
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: provide a bridge. And you've got thirty million dollars in
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: cap space and a top ten draft pick. There's something there.
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: With New Orleans, You've got none of that. You have
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: nothing to offer except that you're a head coaching job
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: in the NFL. But in two thousand and six there
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: was an even worse situation, and you went out and
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: you found Sean Payton. So the onus right now is
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: on Mickey Loomis, God bless us all to go find
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: that person, whoever it may be, who wants the job.
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: I don't know. You can make a case for Aaron
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: Glenn or Joe Brady. We've heard John Gruden. Mike Grabel's
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: laughable because he's very likely going to get the New
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: England job. Again, why would Why would a competent coach
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: with options pick New Orleans? You wouldn't. So this is
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: going to take some creativity of finding the right person
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: culturally and with the football mindset that's going to come
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: in here and understand this is not a one year rebuild.
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: The Saints aren't going to be a no matter. They
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: could hire Jesus Christ from on High. They're not going
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: to the playoffs next year. Your roster won't allow it.
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: So this is going to take somebody coming in recognizing
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: you have a year's long rebuild and you have to
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: have organizational patients to allow it. And we'll find out
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: who that person is. But it's the most consequential, most
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: significant decision that this organization will make since two thousand
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: and six, because this is as bad as it has
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: been since two thousand and six.