Carmichael linking back with Payton shows Saints are starting to turn new leaf

With a former New Orleans Saints assistant coach linking back with a former Saints head coach, it may be a sign the franchise is ready to turn the page.

It's pretty safe to say that New Orleans Saints fans were growing tired and frustrated with the job that (now former) offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael was doing in his role with the Saints. With that being the case, the news of his firing was one of the high points do the season in the eyes of some fans.

That really puts things in perspective doesn't it?

This isn't to say that Carmichael is a BAD coach necessarily. His time was just up with the Saints, and probably has been for some time.

After all, he was brought in with Sean Payton for his initial Saints staff in 2006 to serve as the team's quarterbacks coach. From there, he spent 2007 and 2008 also serving as the passing game coach on top of coaching Drew Brees and the quarterbacks.

Then, starting in 2009, Carmichael was the offensive coordinator of the Saints. The fact that 2009 was the first and only Super Bowl championship season in the history of the franchise, probably explains how he was able to hold the position until the 2023 season concluded. That doesn’t just happen if you can’t coach. 

The thing is though, he was retained even with Payton's departure, and Brees for that matter. Since the choice of the next head coach was, and is, Dennis Allen, the team wanted to maintain familiarity and try to carry any momentum with them moving forward.

Therein lies the Saints problem.

The franchise desperately needs to recognize that this golden era of the team is over, and has been for some time. It's time to move on. We've talked at length about it on this particular site, and with Carmichael being fired, it looks to be the first step in finally approaching a new era. The fact that he linked back up with Payton further justifies this.

Time will tell if and when the New Orleans Saints take more steps in truly turning the page as a franchise. For now though, one step has been confirmed to be taken. The proof is in the pudding.