The New Orleans Saints entered the offseason with the worst vacancy in the NFL coaching carousel, turned down by multiple prospective coaching candidates due to long-term concerns regarding the franchise. With Kellen Moore now taking over as the Saints head coach, the concerns his peers had are already proving true.
New Orleans has the worst salary-cap situation in the NFL this offseason, currently more than $50 million over the cap in 2025. Despite having one of the most expensive rosters, New Orleans has one of the worst defenses and offenses in the NFL with an aging roster.
Related: One NFL free agent every team should pursue in 2025, including New Orleans Saints
All of this has come under Saints general manager Mickey Loomis. Promoted to the role in 2002, the team’s executive vice president and top decision-maker constructed a Super Bowl champion in 2010 but the roster has progressively worsened since losing Sean Payton and Drew Brees.
New Orleans fired head coach Dennis Allen during the 2024 season when it became evident the team wouldn’t make the playoffs. However, ownership decided to keep Loomis around as the head of football operations in a decision that scared off some potential head-coach candidates. Now, that decision seems destined to have further ramifications.
Related: NFL cap space by team 2025, New Orleans Saints cap space
Senior NFL reporter Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports shared on Wednesday’s Inside Coverage podcast that the early sense out of New Orleans is that Loomis doesn’t believe a rebuild is needed right now.
“He doesn’t, from what I understand,, believe they are in a rebuilding period.”
Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epsteinn on how GM Mickey Loomis is approaching the offseason
Related: NFL rumors shed light on future of New Orleans Saints stars with club
Under Loomis, the Saints front office has been proverbially kicking its salary-cap issues down the road to future years. Each time, the roster has still gotten progressively worse while the club’s long-term financial flexibility has been limited even more.
Loomis, who turns 70 next year, has been adamant about avoiding a rebuild that most around the league believe is necessary. Even amid a four-year playoff drought, he’s earned a level of power within the Saints organization that makes firing him anytime soon unlikely.
“There are different general manager structures in the league…(Mickey Loomis) has basically become part of the ownership structure. When you talk to people close to that building, he has an ownership-like degree of influence. I think the idea of resetting him, it’s like, well it’s kinda up to him whether he wants to reset him, because that’s the amount of power that he has.”
Jori Epstein on the power New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis has within the franchise
Related: New Orleans Saints offseason moves after hiring Kellen Moore
Even without a playoff appearance since Payton left as head coach and more than a decade removed from reaching the Super Bowl, Saints ownership feels Loomis deserves to keep running the team. Even if a rebuild is the only viable path to creating a better future for the franchise, team owner Gayle Benson is willing to let Loomis operate with his own interests in mind.
It all highlights why very few around the league found the Saints’ head-coaching vacancy desirable and explains why some still wonder if it’s a franchise Moore can have long-term success with. Given the recent Saints draft history under Loomis, a turnaround within the next two to three years seems unlikely.
