Canal Street Chronicles
How much movement happened during the bye week?
“Every year or so, we seem to have one interim head coach who takes over after a midseason firing and rallies his underachieving team to competency. This year’s version is Darren Rizzi, a mostly unknown career special teams coach whose last head-coaching job was at Rhode Island in 2008 and before that, Division-II New Haven from 1999 to 2001. (Fun trivia: The three head coaches at New Haven prior to Rizzi were Tony Sparano, Mark Whipple and Chris Palmer, who also went on to coach in the NFL.) Can Rizzi make a claim for the permanent job? There’s always the worry this becomes another Rich Bisaccia situation. Bisaccia took over the Raiders from Jon Gruden in 2021, going 7-5 down the stretch and making the playoffs, only to see Josh McDaniels get the job in 2022. Making the postseason isn’t likely for the Saints, but Rizzi’s purposeful approach and 2-0 start give him a shot to convince the powers that be he deserves a shot at keeping the job. Can going 4-2 down the stretch get it done?”
“Let’s see if the Saints can pick up where they left off under interim coach Darren Rizzi before the bye. They had two wins in a row to open the season and everything went South.”
“There hasn’t been a bigger roller-coaster of a team in 2024 than the New Orleans Saints. The Saints opened the season with a pair of dominant wins. Then New Orleans plummeted through a seven-game skid that got head coach Dennis Allen fired. However, since Allen was let go, the Saints have peeled off two straight wins to at least hang around the fringes of the NFC South.
Per Dianna Russini of the Athletic, the way the team has played since coming out of the bye has garnered Dennis Rizzi some real consideration to have the “interim” tag to be removed from his name.
“After the organization parted ways with Dennis Allen,” she said, “Rizzi was a natural choice for the interim role, especially considering he was a finalist for the head coaching job two years ago. While Sean Payton’s positive influence remains within the organization, Rizzi has introduced his own approach, which has been well-received by players. He has focused on building strong relationships with team leaders and veterans, reorganizing the locker room to enhance player cohesion, and adjusting practice schedules to reduce injuries. He believes in a high volume of reps with less intensity during practices that players, including Derek Carr, have appreciated. He’s also allowing players an extra hour of sleep, a simple yet effective adjustment. An assistant coach shared: ‘Everything has a purpose with Rizzi.’”
Analyst’s Take
After their disastrous seven-game skid, the postseason isn’t likely in New Orleans. But that doesn’t mean the team has nothing to...
