After the New Orleans Saints fired Dennis Allen on Monday, three people spoke with the media: veterans Foster Moreau and Tyrann Mathieu, and interim head coach Darren Rizzi. After listening to the three talk, one thing was immediately clear: this isn’t a team that’s packing it in for the remainder of the season.
Rizzi delivered passionate and energetic statements all throughout his first press conference as interim head coach. While he admitted he can’t promise a lot, he did promise to the people of New Orleans that the team will go out every game day and be full of passion and fight. While the results are to be determined, those things are non negotiables for Rizzi.
"This city deserves a winner. They know what winning football looks like and it's our job to bring that back,"
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) November 4, 2024
- Rizzi pic.twitter.com/QqTLXsXDSa
It doesn’t seem like he’ll have to do much work to win over the locker room, as he has a team that’s already willing to follow him. Both Moreau and Mathieu made that clear when speaking with the media, explaining that Rizzi is already a great leader.
Foster Moreau and Tyrann Mathieu believe Darren Rizzi will be a great leader for the Saints
Moreau referred to his new interim head coach as “an unbelievable leader of men.” He explained how in special teams meetings, Rizzi has a special way of coaching, leading, and demanding execution from players.
Foster Moreau on Darren Rizzi: "He is an unbelievable leader of men. I sit in his special teams meetings every day. ... There's something about him and the way that he coaches, the way that he leads, the way he demands execution from his players."
— Luke Johnson (@ByLukeJohnson) November 4, 2024
Mathieu later echoed these statements, saying he actually believes in Rizzi. The veteran safety said the interim head coach can really command a room, and knows what buttons to push to motivate guys.
While these are the two guys who spoke with the media on Monday, they aren’t just saying the right things to say them; this reflects what the locker room is currently feeling. That was evident as Rizzi revealed guys in the locker room are wearing “Merry Rizzmas” shirts.
darren rizzi says players in the locker room are wearing "Merry Rizzmas" shirts 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/f3gqVOpsUk
— Trace (@yfntrace) November 4, 2024
He has a locker room ready to follow his lead, but it is still a team that has lost seven straight games, and picked up a lot of bad habits during the seven-game losing streak. So it will still be work for Rizzi to right the ship in New Orleans. If he can lead the Saints to a strong finish in their final eight games, he could set himself up to be the official head coach after this year.