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Saints to hire Special Teams coach

By Ty Anania

Nov 8, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints punt returner Marcus Murphy and special teams coordinator Greg McMahon before a game against the Tennessee Titans at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 8, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints punt returner Marcus Murphy and special teams coordinator Greg McMahon before a game against the Tennessee Titans at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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After weeks of consistently disastrous special teams play, Sean Payton and the Saints have decided to bring in some help.

It’s about time. Special teams has been the Achilles’ heel of the 2016 Saints. They’ve lost three games with blocked FGs turned into points, and all phases of special teams have been plagued by miscues.

Saints fans have recently taken to calling for Greg McMahon’s job. I, for one, agree with those voices. Even before the special teams implosion that is 2016, the Saints have never fielded even an average special teams unit. The closest thing to dangerous Saints special teams has ever been under McMahon was during the Darren Sproles era. And that’s because of Sproles’s explosiveness more than anything scheme related.

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Unfortunately for the McMahon haters, it looks like he won’t be fired. Yet. Jay Glazer reported that the Saints are bringing in an unnamed special teams coach to serve as an assistant/consultant to McMahon. While it’s not the big step we all were looking for, it’s a step in the right direction. A baby step.

That doesn’t mean that McMahon’s job is safe. Remember, Payton brought Dennis Allen in to serve as an assistant defensive coordinator for Rob Ryan. When Ryan failed to turn the ship around, Allen took over. The same might be true for this unnamed coach.

Of course, it’s also possible that this signing is a sort of stop-gap, giving the Saints front office time to explore the field of available special teams coaches.

McMahon’s performance

It’s worth making some points in McMahon’s defense. Will Lutz is at least partially to blame for some of the blocked kicks. Though it may not be as grave of an issue as one might assume, he could certainly put some more early height on his kicks.

There have also been a fair amount of injuries to key special teams players. Safety Erik Harris led the team in special teams snaps before tearing his knee. Daniel Lasco, one of the team’s best gunners, has been out for a few weeks with a hamstring injury. And Michael Mauti, the special teams captain, landed on IR with a stomach issue. Nate Stupar and Craig Robertson, who were brought in as free agents in part to play special teams, were forced onto the field in Ellerbe’s absence and Laurinaitis’ demotion, so were not available for McMahon.

But all of that is no excuse for much of the special teams problems. The Broncos FG fiasco, for example, was a scheme breakdown. And against the Giants, Janoris Jenkins said that that there were schematic issues that led the Giants to believe they could come away with a blocked kick. Every player the Saints have return kicks has made some kind of egregious mistake except for Tim Hightower, and yet the team has yet to make him the full-time return man.

Next: Breaking the 7-9 Curse

My point is, whatever the outcome, the coaching change is welcome. And it’s been a long time coming.

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