New Orleans Saints Last NFL Team Needing New Head Coach Because Search Hasn't Exactly Gone Great

And then there was one, which is what the New Orleans Saints are, as the lone team with a head coach vacancy but no one to fill it.

The Saints fired incumbent coach Dennis Allen on Nov. 4. That was the second-fastest coach firing of the 2024 season, anteceded only by the Jets firing Robert Saleh on Oct. 8.

But while the Saints got out in front of the Bears, Patriots, Jaguars, Cowboys, and Raiders in needing a head coach, their search and eventual hiring will come in dead last in, you know, actually hiring someone.

"It's a clown show," one New Orleans source said of the Saints current coaching search.

The Saints have interviewed at least six candidates since the second week of January and had second interviews with Mike Kafka, Anthony Weaver and Kellen Moore.

Moore Interview Monday Night

The Moore interview only happened on Monday and lasted well into the early morning hours of Tuesday – which we're sure the Philadelphia Eagles probably don't love given their offensive coordinator's duties preparing a game plan for Super Bowl LIX.

That second interview with Moore was in person and was conducted in Philadelphia.

And it is clear Moore has emerged as one of the favorites for the Saints.

But why is this developing the appearance of a misadventure?

Glenn: New York Over New Orleans

The Saints coveted the idea of hiring Aaron Glenn because he played and coached in New Orleans and had ties within the franchise. 

The Saints set a second interview with the former Detroit Lions defensive coordinator, but Glenn ultimately told the team he would not take the interview because he preferred to go to the New York Jets. 

And that's what he did.

"I interviewed for a number of them, but I wanted this job," Glenn said at his Jets introductory press conference on Monday.

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Saints Left At Altar

The Saints wanted a second interview with Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady. But he decided to pull out of the running. His choice was to remain with the Bills and continue to tie his future to quarterback Josh Allen over possibly being the head coach in New Orleans.

The Saints wanted to interview Washington Commanders coach Kliff Kingsbury. But Kingsbury decided he didn't want to interview with anyone while the Commanders were alive in the postseason. 

And now that the Commanders were eliminated by the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship game, there is no indication Kingsbury has changed his mind about talking to the Saints.

None of this begins to consider the shadow former Packers and Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy has cast over the process.

McCarthy, 61, was the Saints offensive coordinator for five seasons from 2000-04. He still has ties within the organization. 

Mike McCarthy The Wild Card?

But here we are, a couple of weeks after he was released by the Cowboys, and a couple of weeks after the Saints have been talking to other candidates, and still the Saints and McCarthy have not met in person.

That is set to happen perhaps on Thursday or Friday. 

And even when that happens, there are grumblings that McCarthy would want say over his roster and other concessions he didn't have in Dallas. So, McCarthy remains a possibility but not a certainty by any means.

And what part of candidates backing out of interviews, or declining to interview, or choosing other teams makes the Saints look great at this stage?

None.

And neither does being the last team to hire its new head coach after being among the first to fire its previous one.

Written by

Armando Salguero is a national award-winning columnist and is OutKick's Senior NFL Writer. He has covered the NFL since 1990 and is a selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and a voter for the Associated Press All-Pro Team and Awards. Salguero, selected a top 10 columnist by the APSE, has worked for the Miami Herald, Miami News, Palm Beach Post and ESPN as a national reporter. He has also hosted morning drive radio shows in South Florida.