Despite being on the verge of the playoffs, Saints are expected to regress in 2024

The 2023 season was an especially disappointing season for the New Orleans Saints. Despite playing in the struggling NFC South, the Saints finished with a 9-8 record, a win shy of winning the division. In the end, nine wins wasn’t enough, as New Orleans missed the playoffs for a third straight season.

As underwhelming as the year was, it’s reasonable to still be optimistic about the team’s outlook. It doesn’t take much to change the outcome of a couple of games a be playoff team. Surely, that’s why the Saints will try to do this offseason. However, not a lot of media members are confident t New Orleans will pull it off.

The Saints have already been referred to as the most depressing team entering the offseason, now there are arguments that the team will definitely regress next season. Jeff Kerr recently wrote a piece for CBS Sports where he named five teams poised to take a major fall in 2024. One of the teams listed was the New Orleans Saints.

Saints predicted to take a significant step back in 2024

Kerr admitted that New Orleans being in the NFC South could prevent a drastic regression, however, with the challenging cap situation that the team is facing. Kerr argues that the Saints don’t really have the means to improve from their current 9-8 status.

"New Orleans can still win the NFC South in 2024, but is the ceiling 9-8 with Dennis Allen as head coach? The Saints don't have a great front office structure, nor a good head coach in place to get the most out of a group that should be better than the record shows. "

- Jeff Kerr

There could be some truth to what Kerr is saying. There are certainly a lot of questions about Dennis Allen as a head coach, and the Saints aren’t set up to acquire big-name players in free agency. So aside from the draft, and a few minor signings, next season’s roster will look pretty similar to this year’s team.

However, the Saints have made changes to the offensive coaching staff, bringing in Klint Kubiak as offensive coordinator. If Kubiak can get the offense rolling, and New Orleans drafts a couple of players that can become immediate impact players, there’s a chance that the Saints could look much better next season.

READ MORE