The New Orleans Saints have had quite a few missteps in recent years. That’s why the team is headed towards a fourth straight season without a playoff appearance, and a second season in the last four years with a losing record. In the offseason, New Orleans will be searching for a new coach, and that’s typically a sign that things haven’t gone well.
While everyone can admit the Saints have made quite a few mistakes, it’s much harder to agree on the worst mistake. Which move in recent years set the team back the most? What decision does the organization really regret?
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell tried answering this for all 32 teams in a recent piece. Not only did Barnwell identify the worst mistake for each team in the last five years, he compared all 32, ranking them from least damaging to most damaging.
The Saints came in at No. 23, and according to Barnwell, the biggest mistake was handing Cam Jordan a two-year, $27.9 million extension.
ESPN names Cam Jordan extension as Saints biggest mistake in last five years
Barnwell explained that the organization was kind of forced into this decision because of New Orleans’ horrific cap situation, but detailed that Jordan is showing why players in their mid-30s don’t usually get multi-year guarantees.
"Most players are not getting multiyear guarantees in their mid-30s for a reason, though, and Jordan is an example of why. After consistently producing solid sack numbers into 2022, he fell off a cliff last season, as an ankle injury plagued him and limited him to two sacks and six knockdowns in 17 games. The hope was that he would return to form in 2024, but he had just one sack and five knockdowns this season before picking up two more in Sunday's loss to the Commanders."Bill Barnwell (ESPN)
Regardless of how fans feel about the Jordan extension, it’s safe to say that Saints fans won’t agree on that being the team’s biggest mistake in the last five years. In the last five seasons, New Orleans hired Dennis Allen as its head coach, and signed Derek Carr to a four-year, $150 million contract. Now, Allen is fired, and everyone prefers to see a fifth-round rookie in the lineup over Carr.
Talk to any Saints fans, and they’ll tell you why one of those decisions were actually the biggest mistake.