The Saints promoted from within to fill their head coach position and halted their offensive coordinator search to keep Pete Carmichael in that role. Their other top staff job may involve a similar process. Defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen is a candidate to take over as defensive coordinator, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes. Nielsen, 42, has been with the Saints for the past five seasons, each as the team’s D-line coach. Nielsen has DC experience, but it came at the mid-major (Northern Illinois) and Division I-FCS (Central Connecticut State) levels. The Saints also have a former NFL defensive coordinator on staff, in secondary coach Kris Richard. The former Seahawks DC should receive a look as well. He met with both the Ravens and Steelers about their DC vacancies last month. The Saints have met with multiple outside candidates, Michael Wilhoite and Aubrey Pleasant, for the position as well. Wilhoite began his coaching career in New Orleans, working as a lower-level assistant from 2019-20.
Pete Carmichael was believed to be ticketed for a non-offensive coordinator role in 2022, but the Saints are now planning to keep him in the same post.
Sean Payton‘s right-hand man on offense has been with the Saints since Payton arrived in 2006, and he rose to the OC level ahead of New Orleans’ 2009 Super Bowl-winning season. Despite the Saints bringing in candidates for OC interviews, they are keeping Carmichael on board here, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Although Payton leaving will present a massive play-calling void, Carmichael sticking around will help ensure continuity. Carmichael is the NFL’s longest-tenured offensive coordinator. The 2022 season will bring a new challenge for Carmichael, with Dennis Allen‘s promotion to head coach clearing the way for a play-calling opportunity. Although the Saints’ quarterback spot remains uncertain, it appears the team has identified its next offensive play-caller. Carmichael, 50, called plays sparingly under Payton, but his next assignment will obviously represent new territory.
The Saints interviewed Jay Gruden, Colts running backs coach Scottie Montgomery and new Cowboys wideouts coach Robert Prince for the OC job. They also hired former Payton lieutenant Doug Marrone, who vacated the New Orleans OC post after leaving to become Syracuse’s HC in 2009. Carmichael, who turned down the opportunity to interview for the Saints’ HC job, and Marrone are positioned to be Allen’s top offensive staffers.
Another name has been added to the Saints’ search for an offensive coordinator. As On3 Sports’ Matt Zenitz reports (via Twitter), Jay Gruden has interviewed with the team. 
The team has been looking for a new coordinator on offense and defense, and already met with multiple candidates for each vacancy. New Orleans has already added Doug Marrone to the offensive staff, but they still have a decision to make regarding incumbent OC Pete Carmichael. In fact, Zenitz reports that Carmichael remaining in that role still “seems like a possibility”.
Gruden was out of coaching last season, following his one-year stint as the OC in Jacksonville. That came after six years as the head coach in Washington, a stretch that saw some success, but ended in disappointment. He led the team to back-to-back winning records in 2015 and 2016 (something that hadn’t been done in the nation’s capital in almost two decades), although that time includes his only playoff appearance, which ended in a Wild Card loss. Two straight 7-9 campaigns followed, and he was fired five weeks into the 2019 seasons after a winless start.
The 54-year-old also interviewed twice with the Panthers last month for their OC opening. That interest means it wouldn’t come as a surprise if he were to return to the NFL in 2022. Prior to his only head coaching position, he was the offensive play-caller for the Bengals for three seasons, and he also spent seven years on the offensive staff of the Buccaneers, being brought in at the same time as his brother Jon.
If the Saints were to keep Carmichael but also add Gruden, those two – along with Marrone – would represent a highly experienced trio of minds looking to turn around one of the league’s worst offenses in 2021.
The search for a new defensive coordinator continues in New Orleans. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Saints have interviewed Michael Wilhoite for the vacancy (Twitter link). 
[Related: Saints Hire Dennis Allen As Head Coach]
Wilhoite, 35, had a seven-year NFL career, including six with the 49ers. That stretch included an appearance in Super Bowl XLVII, and set up his coaching career, which began two years after his retirement. He served as a special teams assistant with the Saints in 2019; the following year, he assisted the defensive staff, so there is a degree of familiarity between him and the team. Wilhoite spent the 2021 campaign as the linebackers coach for the Chargers.
The news comes one week after longtime DC Dennis Allen was, as expected, chosen as the successor to Sean Payton. While the team has already made some additions to the offensive staff, the OC role is seen as being more of a priority, given Allen’s background. Still, the team is working to fill the position, having also met with Lions defensive backs coach/passing game coordinator Aubrey Pleasant last week. The former Rams assistant has been generating DC interest with his work dating back to 2017 in particular.
While Allen will surely be heavily involved in the Saints’ defense, the team is getting closer to hiring his replacement.
With Super Bowl LVI finished, the final two places in the 2022 Draft have been finalized. The Bengals’ top pick is locked into 31st, while the Rams will not have a selection until the third round. For the rest of the league, the focus has already shifted to free agency and the draft, of course, so now all eyes will be on the offseason maneuvering teams do to reshape their rosters.
For non-playoff teams, the draft order is determined by the inverted 2021 standings, plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. For playoff teams, the order is determined by their postseason outcome and regular season record.
Pending trades, here is the final first round order of the 2022 Draft:
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 3-14
- Detroit Lions: 3-13-1
- Houston Texans: 4-13
- New York Jets: 4-13
- New York Giants: 4-13
- Carolina Panthers: 5-12
- New York Giants(via Bears)
- Atlanta Falcons: 7-10
- Denver Broncos: 7-10
- New York Jets (via Seahawks)
- Washington Football Team: 7-10
- Minnesota Vikings: 8-9
- Cleveland Browns: 8-9
- Baltimore Ravens: 8-9
- Philadelphia Eagles (via Dolphins)
- Philadelphia Eagles (via Colts)
- Los Angeles Chargers: 9-8
- New Orleans Saints: 9-8
- Philadelphia Eagles: 9-8
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 9-7-1
- New England Patriots: 10-7
- Las Vegas Raiders: 10-7
- Arizona Cardinals: 11-6
- Dallas Cowboys: 12-5
- Buffalo Bills: 11-6
- Tennessee Titans: 12-5
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 13-4
- Green Bay Packers: 13-4
- Miami Dolphins (via 49ers)
- Kansas City Chiefs: 12-5
- Cincinnati Bengals: 10-7
- Detroit Lions (via Rams)
To say the Saints’ Michael Thomas extension has not worked out is probably putting it mildly. The star wide receiver missed all of last season and, due to injuries in 2020, has not been on the All-Pro level in the past two years.
Despite Thomas upsetting Saints brass by delaying an offseason ankle surgery last year, he remains in the team’s 2022 plans, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link). After spending extensive time in New York rehabbing, Thomas has returned to New Orleans and has been in communication with the team. While this does not necessarily guarantee the veteran pass catcher will be with the Saints next season, the team could certainly use him.
The Saints struggled for most of this past season at receiver, having cut Emmanuel Sanders and seen Thomas suffer a setback that prevented him from playing at all during the year. Thomas, who will turn 29 in March, has two first-team All-Pro seasons on his resume. Both, of course, came during Drew Brees‘ New Orleans tenure. The Saints are entering a second straight offseason with uncertainty at quarterback, but a Thomas return would do a lot to help the team’s passing attack — if the former second-round pick can stay healthy.
Thomas led the league in receptions in 2018 and ’19, breaking Marvin Harrison‘s single-season record by catching 149 passes during the latter season, but has missed 26 games since the start of the 2020 campaign. He is attached to a $15.35MM base salary in 2022. Thomas’ cap number is also set to spike from $10MM to more than $24MM next season.
The Saints are once again on their own tier in terms of cap compliance, or lack thereof, sitting more than $70MM over the projected 2022 cap. Thomas already converted part of his 2021 salary into a bonus to help New Orleans’ cap situation, moving more money onto the final three years of his five-year, $96.25MM deal. The only way a trade would not crush the Saints in terms of dead money would be if it came after June 1, a la the Falcons’ Julio Jones deal last year. New Orleans would save $15.8MM by trading Thomas after that key date.
With or without Thomas, the receiver position figures to be one the Saints target early in the draft. New Orleans did not see any of its pass catchers top 700 yards last season, with Marquez Callaway‘s 698 leading the team.
The post-Sean Payton era has started in New Orleans, with Dennis Allen officially taking over as the Saints new head coach. When speaking about his promotion, Allen mentioned the value of continuity within the franchise.
“I think that was one of the unique things about this job is that this was not a broken job. This is a job that’s a desirable job. This is a job that has a foundation and culture of winning that’s already been built,” Allen said (via ESPN’s Mike Triplett). “I don’t see this as something where we need to have a ton of change.”
While Allen acknowledged that he’ll preach a lot of the lessons he learned from Payton, he also intends to put his “own spin” on the job.
“I want to take the lessons that I’ve learned, I want to build upon those lessons, and I want to create my own legacy here with the New Orleans Saints,” the coach said.
More coaching notes out of the NFC…
- Andre Curtis is the Bears new safeties coach, the team announced. The 45-year-old has spent the past seven years with the Seahawks, including the past four years as the defensive passing game coordinator. Per the Bears’ website, the Seahawks had six defensive backs earn at least one Pro Bowl nod during Curtis’s stint with Seattle.
- The Vikings are expecting to hire Chris Kuper as their offensive line coach, reports Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network (via Twitter). Kuper had an eight-year playing career with the Broncos, and following a three-year coaching stint with the Dolphins, he joined the Broncos as their assistant offensive line coach in 2019. He ultimately spent three seasons in Denver.
- The Vikings are also hiring Chris Rumph as their defensive line coach, per Wilson (on Twitter). The 50-year-old spent the 2021 season in the same role with the Bears, and he’s also had an NFL coaching stint with the Texans.
- The Giants are hiring Mike Groh as their wide receivers coach, according to Pro Football Talk. Groh spent the past two years as the WRs coach with the Colts, and he had a previous stint with the Eagles that saw him getting promoted to offensive coordinator for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
The Saints have already revamped their offensive coaching staff, and it sounds like they’ll consider adding an offensive coordinator to a grouping that includes Pete Carmichael and Doug Marrone. Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter), the Saints will interview Cowboys wide receivers coach Robert Prince for their OC job.
[RELATED: Saints To Hire Doug Marrone; Pete Carmichael Ticketed For Non-OC Role]
Prince literally finalized his contract with the Cowboys yesterday, and he could already be on the move. The 56-year-old has been coaching since the 1980s, with his first NFL gig coming with the Falcons in 2004. He served as Boise State’s offensive coordinator between 2012 and 2013 before a long stint with the Lions.
Prince served as the Lions WRs coach for seven seasons, and he had a one-game stint as acting head coach in 2020. The veteran coach moved on to Houston in 2021, serving as the Texans wide receivers coach.
Carmichael was the Saints offensive coordinator for the past 13 years, and he is on track to stay on the staff under Dennis Allen. The veteran coach will serve in a different role, however, with Carmichael requesting the change. The team also added Marrone in an unknown role yesterday, and there were rumblings that they were eyeing ex-Jets OC John Morton.
Aubrey Pleasant continues to generate interest on the defensive coordinator market. After interviewing for the Vikings’ DC post, Pleasant met with the Saints about their new vacancy Wednesday, Steve Wyche of NFL.com tweets.
The Lions hired Pleasant as their defensive backs coach last year, but the former Rams cornerbacks coach has been on the DC radar for a bit. The Bengals interviewed him for the job that went to Lou Anarumo in 2019. Pleasant is the first name connected to New Orleans’ new DC vacancy.
Dennis Allen rising from his DC post to replace Sean Payton left a void, and the Saints are moving quickly to fill their staff. They added Doug Marrone on Wednesday and are planning to move longtime offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael to a new position. While New Orleans’ OC job now takes on greater importance, Allen’s presence minimizes the Saints’ DC post to some degree.
The Vikings appear to be zeroing in on Ed Donatell for their DC position, though Pleasant did work with expected Minnesota HC Kevin O’Connell with the Rams last season. Pleasant was the Rams’ corners coach during Sean McVay‘s first four Los Angeles seasons; that was the young assistant’s first position coaching gig.
After a year back in the college ranks, Doug Marrone has landed a new NFL gig. He is set to join Dennis Allen‘s Saints staff, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
This will be a return for Marrone, who was part of Sean Payton‘s original Saints staff. Payton hired Marrone as his offensive coordinator in 2006, and he stayed three seasons — before heading to Syracuse to be the program’s head coach. This will be Marrone’s first NFL job since the Jaguars fired him after four-plus seasons.
[RELATED: OC Pete Carmichael Declines Saints HC Interview]
Marrone, 57, has been an NFL HC in Buffalo and Jacksonville. While his 2017 Jags team nearly became a surprise Super Bowl entrant, the following years featured a steady decline that ended in a 1-15 season in 2020. Marrone spent last season as Alabama’s O-line coach, joining ex-Texans HC Bill O’Brien on Nick Saban‘s staff.
It is unclear if Marrone is being considered for the Saints’ OC job. Carmichael has held that position for the past 13 years, but NOLA.com’s Jeff Duncan notes Payton’s longtime lieutenant is not expected to remain in that role. Carmichael is on track to stay on under Allen, but in a different role. Carmichael requested the change, per Duncan.
New Orleans would not be permitted to name Marrone OC without complying with the Rooney Rule first, however. OC interviews should be expected in the near future. Post-Payton, New Orleans’ OC role will take on greater importance due to Allen’s status as a defensive-minded coach. The Saints’ next OC will be in line to call plays.
In addition to adding Marrone, the Saints are considering hiring ex-Jets OC John Morton, Duncan adds. Morton, 52, served two tenures under Payton in New Orleans. The most recent one came from 2015-16, when Morton worked as the Saints’ wide receivers coach. Morton spent the 2017 season as Jets OC but was fired soon after. He worked on Jon Gruden‘s Raiders staff for three years following that ouster.