On Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs will play in Super Bowl 59, and 30 other teams will watch, thinking about what they need to do to get there next season. For a team like the New Orleans Saints, that finished the 2024 season 5-12, missing the playoffs for a fourth straight year, the path to becoming a contender is seemingly a little tougher than most teams.
However, the league has proven multiple times that sometimes, it only takes one season to get things turned around. The Saints are hoping that’s the case, as they’ve slipped into a cycle of mediocrity. If New Orleans is going to escape this cycle, the franchise needs to make some serious changes this offseason. Here are three specific things New Orleans must do this offseason to get back to contender status.
3. Make the right coaching decision
This became the No. 1 objective for the Saints as soon as they fired Dennis Allen. Finding the right head coach to lead the team is everything. The head coach will establish the team’s culture, and ultimately decide how far the franchise can go.
While New Orleans hasn’t officially made a hire yet, but it doesn’t seem like the team is still in the deciding stage. All signs are pointing to the Saints making Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore the team’s next head coach. While he has proven his offensive prowess during his three stops as a coach, the Saints need to be sure they’re getting a leader, and not just a play caller.
2. Build offensive depth
A frequent sentiment coming from the Saints since the season ended is that this season went down the drain because the team couldn’t stay healthy. There’s certainly some truth to that, as New Orleans lost multiple key players throughout the season— especially on the offensive side of the ball.
While it’s convenient to blame injuries, the Saints must still take the blame for their lack of depth. It was clear New Orleans was a top heavy roster entering last season, and was incredibly thin at certain position groups. Unfortunately, that lack of depth became an issue during the year, and as players started to fall, so did the team’s chances of winning.
It’d be foolish for New Orleans to make the same mistake again. No team can 100% prevent injuries, but they can be better prepared for when injuries strike.
1. Upgrade the defense
Of all the things that went wrong for New Orleans in 2024, the defense collapsing was the most concerning. In recent years, when the Saints were just an average team, the defense remained pretty good and kept the team competitive. Also, for all of the criticism Dennis Allen received as a head coach, he’s proven he can lead dominant defenses.
That’s why it was so disheartening to see the New Orleans defense struggle this past season. From poor tackling, to penalties, to not being able to stop the run, it was an indefensible disaster on the defensive side of the ball. New Orleans must shake things up a bit for that to change.
It’s time for the defense to bring in new, better players, and it’s time for the group to get younger, as the team enters its next chapter.