The New Orleans Saints fell short of expectations in 2023 after making key additions on offense. Heading into 2024, they’re under pressure to make a playoff push. This coach can save the Saints.
Klint Kubiak is the Coach Who Can Save the New Orleans Saints
Coming Into a Good Situation
First off, Kubiak enters a good situation in New Orleans. The caveat of that is that the Saints have underachieved for years. Last season, Pete Carmichael crafted a vanilla offense around Derek Carr. Carmichael entered last season as the NFL’s most-tenured coordinator, leading to questions about his ability to generate a fresh approach. Ultimately, Carmichael was unable to lift the offense around Carr. It wasn’t that the Saints were bad, it was just that they were not very good. The offense committed the third-fewest turnovers (per pro-football-reference). But Carr also failed to lead a single fourth-quarter comeback all season. The run game was abysmal and failed to generate big plays.
The offensive struggles can be attributed to growing pains for Carr in a new system. But the fact of the matter is they underachieved. Alvin Kamara was underutilized as a pure runner, having only received more than 20 carries in one game (per ESPN stats). Kamara is one of the Saints’ best weapons, and creating opportunities for him is essential for Kubiak as he takes over as the offensive coordinator. Also in the mix for New Orleans is Chris Olave, their young receiver with star potential. Olave would benefit from A.T. Perry building off a promising finish to his rookie season. Perry’s strengths are as a ball-winner in the red zone. He was also highly productive last season converting catches into first downs (per NewOrleansSaints.com). If Perry can emerge as a consistent playmaker, the Saints offense has a chance to make drastic improvements.
What Kubiak Brings to the Table
Klint Kubiak comes from a football family. His father Gary helped engineer innovative offenses at his various stops in the NFL. Klint recently worked as the passing game coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers, helping Brock Purdy and the offense finish high in several categories. Having the ability to work with quarterbacks is worth its weight in gold in the NFL. Kubiak comes to New Orleans with the task of helping Carr return to the peak of his playing days with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Before landing with the San Francisco 49ers, Kubiak was the passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach of the Denver Broncos in 2022. While the 2022 season was a major disappointment in Denver, Kubiak’s experience at his different stops should help him handle the responsibility of offensive coordinator. Having worked with Russell Wilson and Purdy most recently, Kubiak should be able to find ways to tap into Carr’s greatest strengths as a passer. While Carr is years removed from his MVP-level season in 2016, the quarterback still possesses a strong arm and has been able to avoid turning the ball over. But he comes into 2024 as a quarterback with a lot to prove.
The offense doesn’t need to make major strides to become a top-ten unit, but they need better production out of Carr and the offensive weapons. The NFC South is arguably the most wide-open division in the entire NFL. With how much the organization invested in Carr, it’s time for the Saints to seize their window and return to being contenders in the NFC. Kubiak is the coach that can get them there.
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