It’s clear that the New Orleans Saints offense needs to change. The team made an assumption that Pete Carmichael could keep it afloat thanks to his 15 years of experience in the system, as the NFL’s longest-tenured offensive coordinator — but that blew up in their face. They averaged just 19.4 points per game this season and a meagre 13.5 points per game through their final six contests. That’s inexcusable with the playmakers assembled in New Orleans.
Carmichael mismanaged personnel throughout the season, failing to creatively use Alvin Kamara on the ground (with too many runs flowing between the tackles in 10 yards-to-go situations) and through the air (with the fewest designed screen passes in the league, and little to no targets out of the slot) and neglecting to keep his most effective short-yardage convertor, Taysom Hill, involved for long stretches of play. Electrifying rookie receiver Rashid Shaheed didn’t become a regular part of the offense until Week 11.
And that doesn’t even get into his concerning trends as a play caller. Few offenses had more rushing attempts on 2nd-and-10 after an incomplete pass than the Saints did under Carmichael (37), with defenses responding accordingly by allowing just 3.4 yards per carry on those downs. Carmichael never seemed to buck that trend, among others. New Orleans needs to evolve.
So making a change at offensive coordinator should be one of the first moves of their offseason. Whether the Saints try to keep things in-house again or fully explore their options outside the building, here are five names on our radar: