Why the Saints can’t afford to be complacent in 2024

If one would’ve told Saints fans after the 2016 season that New Orleans would win four consecutive NFC South titles and make the 2019 NFC Championship Game, they would’ve thought it was crazy. 

Despite having prime Drew Brees under center, a below-average defense kept New Orleans in the doldrums of mediocrity a decade ago. From 2012 to 2016, the Saints finished 7-9 four times with the streak only being broken by an 11-5 campaign in 2013. 

Starting with the 2017 season, the Saints seemed to have broken the bonds that a seemingly inevitable 7-9 record held over them. Despite an 0-2 start, New Orleans rallied to an 11-win year that included its first division title since 2011. Of course, it was the “Minneapolis Miracle” that would end New Orleans’ season, but going into 2018, there was more optimism around the Saints than there had been in a long time. 

One missed pass interference call later, the Saints would have to deal with a new threat in 2020 as Tom Brady would join the NFC South as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Saints appeared to be Brady’s kryptonite, however, as New Orleans dismantled Tampa Bay twice in the regular season. 

Unfortunately, it was Brady and the Bucs who would end the Saints’ 2020 season along with Drew Brees’ career. After missing the playoffs in 2021, longtime head coach Sean Payton would depart New Orleans for Denver, leaving defensive coordinator Dennis Allen to take over head coaching duties. 

New Orleans is a city famous for voodoo and it appears the same curse that held the Saints hostage from 2012-16 has broken free of its bonds and captured the team once again. The Saints have now missed the playoffs three years in a row, and the team is 16-18 under Allen since the start of 2022. 

2022 saw the Saints try myriad players at the quarterback position, but even with the addition of Derek Carr in 2023, the Saints’ offense has continued to look like a shell of its former self. Gone are the days of Brees leading game-winning drives, in are the days of an offense that consistently shoots itself in the foot. 

Pete Carmichael may have been removed from his post as offensive coordinator, but one personnel change won’t magically fix the Saints’ most prevalent issue: They’re complacent in a day and age where complacency loses football games. 

Being limited by a lack of cap space hasn’t helped, but whether it be uber-conservative playcalling or failing to utilize talents such as Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans has been relegated to mediocrity once more. With defensive stars Demario Davis and Cameron Jordan starting to show their age, it’s the Saints’ offense that must break through and prove that there’s still some firepower left in the Big Easy. 

Modern-day professional football is a game of quick tempo, flashy stars and aggression. Over the last three seasons, the Saints have been a team full of lethargy, under-utilized starpower and complacency.