Latest news with #AthleticFootballShow
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Behind closed doors, the Saints admit they have to rebuild
The New Orleans Saints have drawn a lot of ire over the years for their stubborn resistance to rebuilding their team. They've continued to push money into future years and max out their salary cap resources to try and compete. Now, depending on where you look (and ultimately depending on where the NFL sets this year's spending limit), the Saints are in the hole by $54 million to $72 million. But now it's gotten to a point where they can't ignore the inevitable. After struggling to keep their heads above water in a series of 9-8, 7-10, and 9-8 seasons after Drew Brees retired, they finished the 2024 season at 5-12. That's their worst record since the Hurricane Katrina-impacted season back in 2005. It's time for change. And while general manager Mickey Loomis has pushed back on that notion publicly, that isn't what he's telling candidates behind closed doors. During a guest appearance on the Athletic Football Show, Dianna Russini shared some insight to the Saints' expectations for their new head coach. When asked about the team's ledger and whether they understand they may need to take a year to untangle their salary cap accounting, Russini responded: "They do. And that's been part of the conversations they've been having with these coaches that want this job. Which is, 'We're going to practice patience here, knowing that we've put you, if you were to get this job, in this position. It's not your fault.'" That situation isn't for everyone. Candidates who are in great spots with elite young quarterbacks (like Joe Brady and Kliff Kingsbury) have chosen to stay put. Others have gone for greener pastures with more money to invest in their roster (like Aaron Glenn), or opted to wait for better opportunities to open up in next year's cycle (like Mike McCarthy). But for a young hotshot offensive coordinator like Kellen Moore, who got thrown out with the bathwater by the Los Angeles Chargers a year ago? Who the Dallas Cowboys moved on from a year before that? And who just saw someone in his same situation, Bobby Slowik, jettisoned by the Houston Texans a year after getting these same head coach interviews? The fit might make sense. Desperation is a strong motivator. It may be driving Moore to stay in New Orleans after the Super Bowl. And it may push the Saints to finally work on getting out of the salary cap mess they've made for themselves, too. Report: NFL considering electronic system to determine first downs Saints' offseason assets ranked among the NFL's worst war chests Blake Grupe shares endorsement for Saints' next coach at Radio Row Saints have the NFL's worst odds to trade for Defensive Player of the Year Saints' roster gives their next coach a nearly blank slate when crafting the team This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Behind closed doors, the Saints admit they have to rebuild
USA Today
06-02-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Behind closed doors, the Saints admit they have to rebuild
The New Orleans Saints have drawn a lot of ire over the years for their stubborn resistance to rebuilding their team. They've continued to push money into future years and max out their salary cap resources to try and compete. Now, depending on where you look (and ultimately depending on where the NFL sets this year's spending limit), the Saints are in the hole by $54 million to $72 million. But now it's gotten to a point where they can't ignore the inevitable. After struggling to keep their heads above water in a series of 9-8, 7-10, and 9-8 seasons after Drew Brees retired, they finished the 2024 season at 5-12. That's their worst record since the Hurricane Katrina-impacted season back in 2005. It's time for change. And while general manager Mickey Loomis has pushed back on that notion publicly, that isn't what he's telling candidates behind closed doors. During a guest appearance on the Athletic Football Show, Dianna Russini shared some insight to the Saints' expectations for their new head coach. When asked about the team's ledger and whether they understand they may need to take a year to untangle their salary cap accounting, Russini responded: 'They do. And that's been part of the conversations they've been having with these coaches that want this job. Which is, 'We're going to practice patience here, knowing that we've put you, if you were to get this job, in this position. It's not your fault.'' That situation isn't for everyone. Candidates who are in great spots with elite young quarterbacks (like Joe Brady and Kliff Kingsbury) have chosen to stay put. Others have gone for greener pastures with more money to invest in their roster (like Aaron Glenn), or opted to wait for better opportunities to open up in next year's cycle (like Mike McCarthy). But for a young hotshot offensive coordinator like Kellen Moore, who got thrown out with the bathwater by the Los Angeles Chargers a year ago? Who the Dallas Cowboys moved on from a year before that? And who just saw someone in his same situation, Bobby Slowik, jettisoned by the Houston Texans a year after getting these same head coach interviews? The fit might make sense. Desperation is a strong motivator. It may be driving Moore to stay in New Orleans after the Super Bowl. And it may push the Saints to finally work on getting out of the salary cap mess they've made for themselves, too.
New York Times
31-01-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
TAFS Mailbag: Bills' existentialism, rooting for the Chiefs and more
The Athletic Football Show mailbag is open for business. On the latest episode Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dipped into the questions and picked out their favorites. Taking center stage: Should Bills fans give up hope of winning a Super Bowl? And is it really fine to be rooting for the Chiefs to make three-peat history? A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on YouTube below or in 'The Athletic Football Show' feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Bradley (listener): Hey guys, love the show but I couldn't bear to listen last night (Sunday night's episode). Why? Because I'm a Bills fan. Should I give up on football and do something else with my Sundays? Is there any hope at all… will we ever get the ball to the top of the hill? Robert: Why do you watch sports? Why do you love football? Is it solely to see your team win championships? I think that should be the goal every year. If you're rooting for a team that's not actively trying to win championships that would be extremely frustrating. If I were a Cowboys fan, I would just be staring into the distance for the next five years without understanding what to do with myself. But let's go back in history if you're a Bills fan. I'm old enough to remember J.P. Losman, Trent Edwards, Rob Johnson and what that felt like. If you're a Bills fan these days, you get to watch Josh Allen play football every Sunday. If I told you seven years ago you're going to have probably the second-best player in the league — a quarterback who will likely win an MVP award at some point and will go into the Hall of Fame — and will be on the doorstep of the Super Bowl every year almost guaranteed, you would sign that bargain 100 times out of 100. Advertisement Derrik: To me, make it fun however you can make it fun. I am fully an advocate of if this team is (annoying) you and not fulfilling whatever you want out of a sport, then stop attaching yourself to them. That's perfectly fine, be a Josh Allen fan and then root for five other players on different teams if that is the best way for you to get enjoyment out of the sport. You obviously know the sport is great. So do whatever you can and take off any limiters that would make you not enjoy the sport. I'm very much an advocate of 'you don't have to be a fan of anything for life'. Dan (listener): I'm not a Chiefs fan by any stretch, but I've always appreciated greatness. This entire playoffs should have been about their greatness and seemed to warp into the refs or the league. Especially from big accounts who seem to lead engagement farming Chiefs hate. Outside of my Chiefs-to-win-the-Super-Bowl bet, I found myself rooting for them because of how asinine the conversation around them had become. Since the Dolphins are never going to win a playoff game again in my lifetime, is it wrong of me to root for the Chiefs? Derrik: This goes back to what I said earlier… do whatever makes the sport fun for you. If it's rooting for the best quarterback we've ever seen potentially making history with a third Super Bowl in a row, yes go root for that. I don't care if you're a fan of another AFC team. This is why the push to talk about the refs in the league — and if it's rigged — is really frustrating the Chiefs. One; they're not a villain in the way the Patriots were, where they actually did stuff that maybe could have garnered hate. But two, this is not just them getting there a second time… this is potentially history, something we've never seen before. Regardless of whether you hate this particular Chiefs team, this is an objectively cool thing. You will be able in 25 years to tell your kids or grandkids that you might have witnessed the greatest dynasty in the history of the sport. That should be something we're all rooting for, or at least glad that we got (to see). You don't necessarily need to root for the Chiefs to win it, but the fact that we're here is something that you should absolutely appreciate. You can listen to full episodes of The Athletic Football Show for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch on YouTube. (Top Photo:)
