The New Orleans Saints are in quite the state of transition after finishing the 2024 season on a low note, falling 27-19 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the season finale. That ended their year with a 5-12 record, a top-10 pick in this year’s draft, and an uncertain future without a head coach in place.
There’s plenty of work to do as the team looks to find their next coach, has questions at quarterback for the long-term and has multiple positions of need to fill as the 2025 NFL draft looms ahead.
We spoke with former Saints quarterback Drew Brees on the state of the team and how he reflects on last season. Brees quickly pointed out that the biggest issue was the injury bug, which the Saints caught in a major way.
“The tough part with the Saints is that they weren’t healthy,” Brees told me this week. “They lost both of their starting receivers early in the season between Rasheed Shahid and Chris Olave.”
The difference between the first two games of the season, in which the Saints looked like an offensive juggernaut scoring 91 points, compared to what the rest of the season looked like was like night and day.
Brees continued: “You look at what they did the first two weeks of the season when everybody was healthy. They were as good of an offensive team as anybody in the league. All of the sudden, guys just start dropping like flies, and then you lose Derek Carr there toward the end. You lose Alvin Kamara, you lose Taysom Hill.”
Brees went as far as to say that it was not totally fair to evaluate the Saints because of just how many elements were missing.
“The were shorthanded most of the year, which put a lot of pressure on guys both of offense and on defense,” Brees said. “So, kind of unfair to evaluate the team, other than noting they had a lot of young guys who stepped up and had a chance to play.”
And there were some diamonds in the rough who did show their talents and gained some recognition for the bright spots they were able to provide in an otherwise largely abysmal season.
“You trade Marshon Lattimore, arguably one of the best defensive guys in the secondary, kind of midway through the season, which allowed some young, secondary players to come in and get more time,” Brees said. Alontae Taylor and Kool-Aid McKinstry played more snaps after Lattimore was traded, but other defensive backs like Ugo Amadi, Shemar Jean-Charles, and Rico Payton got more opportunities because of it, too.
Despite the blunders and the fact the Saints have to practically totally rebuild on all fronts going into next season, looking to bounce back from a 5-12 overall record that put them at dead last in the NFC South, Brees views this team as being in a “good position.” He’s always been an optimist.
“So, look, they’re kind of in good position. But, obviously, they’re going out and looking for a new head coach, whether they recruit that guy from within, which is kind of where we have been the last 20 years,” Brees said.
The Saints have another option here, and it may just be time to pull the trigger on it. Brees does not seem too opposed.
“Or,” Brees added, “you go outside of the building and go get somebody with some fresh perspective.”