The New Orleans Saints are making sweeping changes to course correct a season gone wrong. First, ownership asked now-former head coach Dennis Allen to pack up the office so pissed-off Saints special teams coach Darren Rizzi could finish out the season. The Saints front office was not done there either, as CB Marshon Lattimore was shipped off to the Washington Commanders before the NFL trade deadline.
Saints GM Mickey Loomis did not speak in the press conference after Allen was let go. However, Loomis did take to local radio to Lattimore know his efforts were appreciated by the city.
“Marshon has been a fantastic player for us. It was a great draft pick. You know, he was a defensive rookie of the year the year that we drafted him, 2017, and made the Pro Bowl a number of times,” Loomis began. “(Lattimore) is a fantastic player. He was a good teammate and, you know, I’ve got nothing but good things to say about Marshon.”
Everyone knows the pause, the implied but, that precedes some constructive criticism. Loomis led with the compliments but everyone in the organization knew Lattimore was struggling to stay on the field.
“Unfortunately, the last couple years (Lattimore) has had some soft tissue injuries to deal with, a couple of other injuries to deal with,” continued Loomis. “But he still is, I believe, one of the better corners in our league and Washington is getting a good player for their playoff push here and their run. I wish him nothing but the best, I really do. It was just, ultimately, it came down to a deal that I thought was good for us, good value for us and that’s why we did it.”
Loomis is letting Rizzi run the show for the rest of the regular season, though that will be difficult without a top-notch cornerback. The Saints do not seem worried about any lack of energy or fight over the next eight games.
“Rizzi’s always got this effervescent personality. He’s got kind of this fighter mentality, and you feel that even when you’re just talking in a regular conversation with him,” Loomis allowed. “I think that was positively received by our team and certainly by our staff and players in a really, really, really difficult circumstance.”
Saints satisfied with Marshon Lattimore deal
Loomis has been trying to lead the Saints back to the Super Bowl ever since Sean Payton and Drew Bress left town. Perhaps the organization was trying to hang on to a previous era too long with Allen. Now the front office gets a fresh start at a rebuild, which should get a boost from a big return in the Lattimore deal.
The Saints were fielding calls for about a week before making a crucial decision, per Loomis.
“I think really it’s just been the last week when there was some speculation about him being traded,” Loomis shared, “Given our record, you know, that’s gonna spur calls and we had a number of them over the last four or five days.”
As for how the Saints can use the return to shore up key areas?
“We’re adding picks in the draft and we’re moving up in the draft is kind of the way I look at it,” replied Loomis. “(The Lattimore trade) gives us a good amount of picks in next year’s draft.”
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