Saints prove that they're not the worst team in NFC South

The New Orleans Saints are a long ways to go from being the best team in the NFC South, but at least they aren't the worst.

Even though the Carolina Panthers beat the Saints in Week 3, Carolina's recent personnel changes prove the Panthers are in much more need of a rebuild than the Saints.

The Panthers fired head coach Matt Rhule, defensive coordinator Phil Snow, and assistant special teams coach Ed Fole on Monday after Carolina lost its fourth game of the season.

According to ESPN's David Newton, under Rhule, the Panthers went 1-27 when allowing 17 or more points, including 25 losses in a row.

Acquiring Baker Mayfield was the last of a string of poor decisions from the franchise, and the recent sacking could signal the start of a rebuilding era for the Panthers in 2022.

Saints at least have better coaching and management than Panthers franchise

Yes, the Saints did play an absolutely ugly game against the Panthers earlier this season. Given that the Saints barely squeaked by to wins against the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks, they're not exactly in a position to boast about their roster.

Still, on paper, NOLA's talent outweighs that of the Panthers as the Saints have more consistent firepower on both sides of the ball. And Dennis Allen is no Sean Payton, but he's definitely not Matt Rhule.

New Orleans remains in a bit of an offensive identity crisis with gadget player Taysom Hill singlehandedly leading the team to a win last Sunday, and the passing and running game has oodles of room for improvement.

If Jameis Winston can get healthy and Alvin Kamara can continue his strong rushing performance from Week 5, the Saints have a potential playoff-contending squad on their hands.

The Saints should nonetheless watch out -- the Panthers may be undergoing their much-needed rebuild right now, but NOLA could very well be next.