When former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden attended New Orleans Saints OTAs last week, many wondered whether big changes were on the way for quarterback Derek Carr and the Saints offense, given that Gruden was primarily working with that side of the ball.
As it turns out, the Saints had a particular reason for wanting Gruden's voice at OTAs- and that reason is Carr.
Saints head coach Dennis Allen spoke to the media on Tuesday, saying that the team brought Gruden to practices to “pick his brain” on Carr, according to Katherine Terrell of ESPN.
“Obviously, Jon's a guy that has a lot of experience with Derek and Derek has had his most success under Jon Gruden.”
Allen cited the success that Carr, who spent four seasons with Gruden on the Raiders, enjoyed with his former coach.
Carr completed a career-high 70.4 percent of his passes in his second year with Gruden in his ear while also posting the two highest QBRs of his career in 2019 and 2020.
Allen made it clear that the Saints, who he noted have enjoyed sustained success offensively over the last several years, aren't going to make changes to the offense.
But any input that Gruden has, especially with Carr, will certainly be welcomed.
While Carr and Gruden enjoyed success, their time together ended bitterly following Gruden's 2021 resignation due to emails that contained racist, misogynistic and homophobic language.
Carr had said that he loved Gruden but was angry and frustrated because he didn't- and doesn't- “condone that kind of talk.”
Despite this, Allen told the media that Gruden's visit was “positive” and that he doesn't expect any sort of backlash.
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