NFL writer warns Saints fans to lower expectations for new OC Klint Kubiak

The New Orleans Saints, coming off a 9-8 season that almost earned them a trip to the playoffs, didn’t make many massive moves this offseason. Because of that, there has been an argument that the most important offseason addition for the Saints was offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Kubiak is expected to bring back New Orleans’ run game and help the unit become a top offense in the NFL.

Of course, the results will show themselves during the season, but there has been a sense of optimism in New Orleans. Derek Carr is entering his second season with the team, the offense still has talented weapons like Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, and Taysom Hill, and the Saints tried to address the offensive line. Even if there are concerns about Carr or the line, the offense was already pretty solid a year ago, so Kubiak could only improve from that, right?

Brad Gagnon is warning against that kind of optimism. In a recent piece for Bleacher Report, highlighting overreactions for all 32 teams, Gagnon argued the notion that Kubiak will get more out of Derek Carr and the offense is an overreaction.

Can Klint Kubiak actually improve Saints offense?

When explaining why this was an overreaction, Gagnon pointed to Kubiak’s history with Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos in 2022. That was only one factor, though. The other factor is that Gagnon believes Carr is well past his prime.

"Not everything Kyle Shanahan touches turns to gold. Keep in mind that Kubiak's experience working with Russell Wilson in Denver in 2022 was ugly. Carr is well beyond his prime, which wasn't special in the first place. The Saints are delaying an inevitable rebuild."

- Brad Gagnon (Bleacher Report)

The Saints are definitely delaying an inevitable rebuild, and the other things Gagnon argued could be true. However, that doesn’t mean Kubiak can’t take this New Orleans offense to new heights.

Just last season, the Saints put up 23.6 points a game, which was ninth in the NFL. New Orleans also had the 14th-most yards per game last year with 337.2. This was all accomplished with some very glaring weaknesses like running the ball and red-zone effeciency. That means Kubiak is inheriting a solid unit. He isn’t being asked to create magic, just to clean up some things and make the unit a little more productive. That’s definitely a realistic expectation.

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