JACKSON: Saints season from hell ends, now real work begins

By Ross Jackson

After 17 games, numerous injuries, a head coach fired, a defensive line coach demoted, five wins and 12 losses later, the New Orleans Saints season from hell is officially over.

Expectations were high coming off of a fiery 2-0 start. With 91 points scored and 15 consecutive scoring drives for the starting offense, top quarterback Derek Carr, new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and the Saints offense looked absolutely unstoppable. 

But then, an injury to starting center Erik McCoy during a home loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3 brought upon an epic seven-game collapse that was capped off with the first in-season firing for a Saints head coach in decades.

After the ousting of former coach Dennis Allen, things looked to be on the way back up for New Orleans. A two game winning streak with interim head coach Darren Rizzi at the helm was a brief bright spot. Just one remaining win over the six games closed out the year, including a shutout loss–the first in the NFL this season.

Add to that numerous signs of dysfunction such as contested Injured Reserve appointments, lack of discipline on the field, an inability to play a full four quarters and the continuation of injury after injury and this Saints season could not have come to its merciful end fast enough.

Finishing the year as the last place team in the NFC South, even for those of us without high expectations of the team, is a shock. And one that won’t carry much benefit at all.

The Saints finish dead last in the NFC South pic.twitter.com/Wt22YOVwoy

— John Hendrix (@JohnJHendrix) January 5, 2025

There is no doubt that this season was a disappointment for fans, players, coaches and staff alike.

Despite starting the year with playoff aspirations, New Orleans will draft No. 9 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft. Their last-place schedule still includes matchups across the AFC East and NFC West, while the NFC South division is getting better and more competitive by the week.

But for New Orleans, who have fallen much further down this pitfall than anticipated, a ladder is available. With a head coach search on the way and the chance to begin to overhaul an aging roster, six draft picks projected to be in the top-130 of the draft, the Saints most important work for their future now begins.

Top head coaching candidates like Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel may be just out of reach for the Saints with the New York Jets and New England Patriots likely to appeal to each candidate respectively. The Saints will have an extensive and sure-to-be intriguing next few weeks.

Once a coach is hired, then comes free agency and the draft. The Saints must find ways to improve their trenches on both sides of the ball, their depth across the roster. Adding young playmakers and difference makers will help create a more sustainable product than what they have put on display in recent years.

That hard work now stares the Saints and general manager Mickey Loomis directly in the face. Every mechanism toward improvement will be available this offseason and expectations will be much lower than usual going into 2025. New Orleans and its leadership must take advantage of that with fresh perspectives and new ideas rather than continuing to reach back for previous success.

Whether or not the Saints take full advantage of that opportunity remains to be seen. But they don’t have to be a playoff team in 2025 in order to show progress. That’s a comfortable and achievable place for the team to be.

But one thing is for sure. The performance, the product and the talent must show some clear and identifiable evidence in the right direction as quickly as possible. Otherwise patience will quickly run out.

The Saints’ season from hell is over. But the offseason that could keep them there awaits.