As the New Orleans Saints begin the second stage of their head coach search with in-person interviews, it feels like an appropriate time to look at Mickey Loomis’ approach to meeting with prospective coaches.
Loomis doesn’t believe he has to sell why the Saints would be attractive to coaches, because that’s not what the interview process is about to him. Instead of saying, ‘this is what we have to offer,’ Loomis believes discussing visions and how they align is the proper way to look at interviewing coaches.
Loomis elaborated on that point: “The right thing to do is not try to sell. The right thing to do is lay out who you are, what your vision is on both sides and make sure we can have a collective vision. That’s how we’re going to be successful. It’s not going to be about selling.”
His mindset is “we’re not recruiting, we’re interviewing, and they’re interviewing us. It’s about right fit.” Not selling doesn’t equate to not answering questions. Loomis isn’t approaching this with the logo on his shirt and expecting candidates to jump.
Candidates will have things they want and questions they want answered, and Loomis, along with the rest of the people in the room, will answer those questions with full transparency. Hopefully it leads them to the right candidate for the job.