It's now or never

Good morning, and welcome to the August 31 edition of the Saints Insider newsletter. Hope y'all are all primed to have a great Labor Day Weekend, also known as Your Last Weekend Without NFL Football. 

Lots of stuff to get into, so let's stop dilly dallying and get on the horse. 

Tick-tock

Dennis Allen is about to enter his third season as the Saints head coach, and to say he's been under fire for his first two years would probably be underselling it. 

In fairness to Allen, he has made some significant changes since he's come in to try the right formula. His first year, he revamped his defensive staff. His second year, he hand-picked his starting quarterback. This year, he oversaw the most dramatic offensive philosophy shift this team has seen in decades. 

As my colleague Rod Walker noted, that means the buck will squarely fall with him this season. If this Saints season is not a success, there are very few places left to point. 

Take some time for Rod's column this morning, which I believe paints the entire picture in a fair light. This is the first of several big pieces we will have coming out in the next week to preview the 2024 season, so stay tuned for more. 

Nothing but love

Continuing his series of articles from what seems to be the New Orleans Saints western outpost, columnist Jeff Duncan caught up with former Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael about his nearly two decades in New Orleans. 

It may not have ended well, but Carmichael has no regrets. 

“I wouldn't trade anything,” Carmichael told Duncan “I mean, 18 years in one place, three kids through one school system. That’s pretty rare.”

It was the first time Carmichael has spoken publicly since the Saints ousted him this offseason. 

In the news 🗞️

Randy Mueller (yes, that Randy Mueller) has joined the Saints front office. New Orleans now has three former NFL General Managers working under Mickey Loomis in Mueller, Jeff Ireland and Dave Ziegler. 

Former Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas doesn't have a new NFL home yet. If he does find one within the next week, that team won't have him for Week 1 as the NFL handed Thomas a 1-game suspension Friday. 

Get to know the newest Saints defensive tackle, whose claim to fame was the time he suplexed someone. 

Bold predictions

The Saints Insider Podcast crew got together to make some bold predictions ahead of the 2024 season. We all had some numbers to throw out there for Taysom Hilll, some of us (cough, Rod Walker, cough) maybe took the word bold to the extreme, and one of us got torched for suggesting the Carolina Panthers could be in the playoff hunt. 

This was a fun one! You can listen here. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and may your college football team enjoy a perfect Week 1 schedule (unless you're a Southern Cal fan). 

Cheers,

Luke Johnson