The Future of the Saints
LOVE ME SOME SAINTS.
I know a bit about Tom, and more about his brothers. They are gone now, and I loved them both. They were good friends. I was blessed to sing at one of their funerals. Tom was at best an acquaintance and tough client. Even today when I see Tom I am never sure if he recognizes me. Which reminds me of rule number one- Tom hates lawyers. If you weren't Stanley Rosenburg, his long time friend and attorney, you were just another shark.
I digress...
Many pundits are talking about the future of Sean Peyton right now. They postulate what Mickey Loomis wants, and Drew Brees wants. All that really matters is what Tom Benson wants. So I will use my small amount of personal knowledge of the Benson mindset, my knowledge of football as a product and some hocus pocus to offer my prediction.
The Saints started the season looking less like the "Black and Gold" and more like the "Lack and Old". But the young talent I saw on defense stepped up, and the misteps on defense became more apparent. The team fought til the end. So what will happen in the off-season? Here are my thoughts:
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Drew Brees has maybe two good years left. He has a decent cast around him, though he makes everyone look good. He is not going to go somewhere else, learn a new system, try to establish his young family in a new town and risk his legacy to a new cast for more money he will never spend. He wants to finish with Sean, and Sean with him. Neither one wants to change course, because they are geniuses of a feather and they are having fun.
DREW BREES STAYS TWO MORE YEARS, AND RESTRUCTURES HIS CONTRACT
Sean Peyton has a good thing, and a talented coach on the field that makes him look good. He is a young man as coaches go, and has only been divorced a few years. He wants two more years with Drew to see if they can win the ellusive second ring. And coaching Drew on Sunday is worth a few million in the bush.
SEAN PEYTON STAYS, RESTRUCTURES HIS CONTRACT TO FINISH IN TWO YEARS WITH DREW BREES
Tom Benson does things his way. He is a proud man, and will spend money to prove a point. He took a helluva beating this year in the media. Its not about the money. He made an unusually bad move by putting the Saints in trust for his adopted kids, but he is still at the wheel. Tom needs to show the NFL and the world he is still in charge. Which means he can't afford to let Peyton and Brees leave for something as vulgar as money. Draft choices would be tempting, because Tom wants to live forever but with now all of his brothers gone, he has to be wondering if he has more than two years left himself. So Tom will give Sean and Drew lots of rope for the next of two years to get him past the embarrassment of greedy kids, a bad financial planning move and questions about his competency.
TOM BENSON WORKS A DEAL WITH PEYTON AND BREES TO KEEP THEM FOR LONGER THAN TWO YEARS, BUT CONFIDENTIALLY TELLS THEM TWO IS WHAT HE WILL GIVE THEM
Mickey Loomis is the odd man out to me. Now my Uncle Don is a prep coach legend and former Saints scout. There are few people on this earth I can discuss Xs and Os with, that keep me hanging on their every word. He thinks I am nuts for saying, but someone has to pay for all this dead money wrapped up in long gone players. I have no doubt Mickey gave Sean exactly what Sean said he wanted. Sean can't pay for those mistakes. He's teflon in my eyes. Mickey has to go, and a younger GM will make Benson look like he is planning to be around a long time.
MICKEY LOOMIS IS GONE BY START OF CAMP
Other sacrificial staff- O-line coach, DB coach, Linebackers coach.
Other sacrificial players- Mark Ingram gets a reduced role, as does Marcus Colston. The Saints just won't say it.
Your thoughts? Leave a comment.
I agree to an extent. I think that Loomis is gone but not from the organization. I think that he is given a role with Benson Sports. Loomis is a decent money man but not a talent evaluator. I think that he is put in a role to manage the cap for the Saints and Pelicans only. There will be a talent evaluator in place for the Saints. It might be Jeff Ireland.
ReplyDeleteI think that Colston and Evans are gone. Ingram stays. Spiller is given another year to see if he can be fully healthy. Same with Byrd. Browner is gone. Strief may be done as well.
As far as coaches, I think that the Bill Johnson, the DL coach, needs to go. He is terrible. The lineman have zero pass rush technique. Joe Vitt needs to go. McGriff needs to go. Not sure about Dennis Allen. The defense showed improvement after Ryan was let go but there were too many injuries and not enough fundamentals. On Offense, I would love to see Curtis Johnson brought back. It's not that we had anything wrong with our WR production. But I feel like Coach Johnson can be an upgrade.
One final note; it is Payton, not Peyton.