New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis has been in denial for a long time. He didn’t want to admit that Dennis Allen wasn’t the right coach to lead the team, and he’s still refusing to admit that the Saints need to rebuild. As much as New Orleans’ fans want Loomis gone, reality is he’ll likely be calling the shots for the franchise in the offseason.
Hopefully, Loomis will use this season as a wake-up call, and realize that drastic changes are needed. That’s been clear all season, but it was, once again, evident on Sunday as the Saints were embarrassed by the Las Vegas Raiders.
While both teams entered the Week 17 matchup as two of the worst teams in the league, Vegas dominated New Orleans, winning 25-10. Sure, the Saints can make the excuse that they were without the majority of their starting offense, as well as some key defenders, and also have an interim head coach. However, the reality is New Orleans had another indefensible performance.
The Raiders had won just three games prior to Sunday, and they struggled all year to do pretty much anything. That wasn’t the case against New Orleans. Vegas was stout defensively, and did whatever they wanted on offense. Veteran running back Ameer Abdullah rushed for 115 yards, giving him his first 100-yard rushing performance in his 141st career game.
That pretty much captures how bad it is for New Orleans right now, and should severe as the final sign that a total makeover is needed on the organization.
Saints need to rebuild from scratch in 2025 offseason
The last few games have shown that interim head coach Darren Rizzi probably isn’t the best option to be the team’s next head coach. Rizzi was undoubtedly fighting an uphill battle, but the team hasn’t delivered under his lead like it needed to, to convince everyone he deserved the job.
Additionally, key players, who have long been models of consistency for the franchise, have even struggled as of late. That’s been evident with a defense, that’s relatively healthy, getting bullied weekly. That should tell Mickey Loomis that it’s time to let the rope go and rebuild the organization from the ground up.