New Orleans Saints: Is the Pelicans basketball team part of the problem?
The New Orleans Saints are currently experiencing some technical difficulties. It’s hard to tell where exactly the problems are coming from, but some arrows are beginning to point to the front offices.
General manager Mickey Loomis has been a financial savior for this organization. But as of late, some iffy draft choices (redeemed himself this year), overpaying for the underperforming, dead money problems (about $30 million owed to players who no longer play for the Saints), and what seems to be just an overall loss of enthusiasm, people are beginning to question him. I’m not saying there’s a lack of interest from Loomis, I’m saying he just doesn’t seem to have his head in the game like he once did, causing the team to make some mistakes and finding itself in a bit of a financial hole.
Since 2012, the New Orleans Saints have a regular season record of 25-25 (two out of three losing seasons). That’s absolutely unacceptable for a franchise that’s supposed to be considered one of the best in recent years. It’s incredibly difficult for a .500 team to make the playoffs. Once considered one of the league’s powerhouses, the Black and Gold are no longer feared.
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But what’s really to blame? One thought that comes to mind is Mickey Loomis’ recent venture with the Crescent City’s basketball team, the New Orleans Pelicans. “Recent” may be stretching it. After Saints owner Tom Benson bought the hoops team in June of 2012 (just before the new NFL season) when they were still the Hornets, he hired Loomis to take over as head of basketball operations where he would oversee general manager Dell Demps.
And since the New Orleans Saints had what was perhaps their best season (statistically) in 2011, it just seems like a different football team has taken over the city. I believe six-straight losses in the Superdome (biggest losing streak at home in 35 years) is an obvious indication.
Mickey Loomis has his plate full, probably more than any other general manager in the National Football League, and likely more than any head of basketball operations in the NBA. He’s overseeing duties for one of the more successful football teams over the past decade and an up and coming basketball team that is home to arguably the best player in the league, Anthony Davis.
Loomis is a busy, busy man, respectfully. But you’ve got to be an absolute superhuman to be able to successfully manage two professional sports franchises simultaneously. It’s got to be one or the other for him, because problems in the New Orleans Saints’ front offices are becoming evident, and it’s not sitting well with fans.
This is just based off speculation, but there are clearly problems within this organization. Perhaps one of them is that Mickey Loomis’ employment with the Pelicans is causing him to lose focus on what has been his job since 2002 and what should be his top priority — successfully managing the New Orleans Saints in hopes of leading them to another Super Bowl.
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