By Charles Hanagriff
In January of 2021, it wasn’t a great time to be a Houston Texans fan.
The team had just fired coach Bill O’Brien after a 4-12 season. The owner, who had inherited the team a little over two years earlier, was at odds with the fans, partially because of his hiring of Jack Easterby. Easterby was a former team chaplain with no personnel experience who had a role in allowing O’Brien to trade away star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins for far below his market value.
Starting quarterback Deshaun Watson wanted out (the Texans would soon be anxious to grant that request for other reasons). The team did not have a first or second round pick in the upcoming draft, and they were about $20 million over the salary cap.
Confidence was not exactly overflowing, which makes it a lot like the New Orleans Saints predicament today. It was difficult to foresee then that just two years later Houston would have one of the best organizational situations in the NFL.
It did not start out that way. New General Manager Nick Caserio, who was about to go on a heater of personnel acquisitions, stumbled out of the gate, hiring David Culley as the team’s head coach. Culley was taking his first NFL head coaching job at age 65, and his tenure would only last one season.
But Caserio, who built his career with the New England Patriots, took control of the scouting department, and the roster development began.
The first year was rough, but the draft, minus a pick in the Top 65, produced future leading receiver Nico Collins and backup quarterback Davis Mills in the third round, plus three more contributing players on day three.
After firing Culley, Caserio hired as head coach Lovie Smith, who was far removed from his success in Chicago and had been out of the league for six years. Smith would also last only one season.
But the draft that year was one of the great ones, producing six starters including impact players like Derek Stingley, Jalen Pitre and Christian Harris.
Caserio was entering a crossroads season in 2023. Having solved his salary cap problems, drafted a solid base and avoided high priced free agents, he was ready to get his long-term quarterback.
He needed a coach first though, and the Texans were fighting the perception of instability after two straight single season tenures.
DeMeco Ryans certainly had options after two strong seasons as defensive coordinator in San Francisco. It took a six-year contract and a promise of patience to get him to return to the team that drafted him.
Ryans and Caserio got the break they needed when Carolina bypassed quarterback CJ Stroud in favor of Bryce Young, a move that 18 months later looks like one of the great blunders in draft history. But Caserio continued his hot streak by trading up for dominant pass rusher Will Anderson, snagging starting center Juice Scuggs in round two, stealing wide receiver Tank Dell in round three and picking up valuable starting linebacker Henry To’o To’o in round five.
It completed a three-year draft haul that would rival just about any this century, and it wasn’t just because they hit on a quarterback and a couple of other high picks. More on that later.
Now, what does this have to do with the Saints?
To start with, the Texans of 2021 looked a lot like the Saints of 2025 will. Inexperienced owner, new coach, depleted roster, bloated cap, unstable quarterback situation and disgruntled fan base.
The Saints salary cap situation now is worse than the Houston’s was then, but their draft capital is actually a little bit better than Houston’s was before the Watson trade.
Caserio is the hero of the story. He worked with the owner, got past his coaching gaffes, drafted well, managed the cap and avoided the type of free agent signings and contract structures that can handcuff an organization. Houston won a playoff game last year, are in first place in their division right now and currently $19 million under next year’s cap.
Knowing how vital a strong general manager is to (re)building a franchise, it was worrisome to hear reports that Mickey Loomis considered Dennis Allen a “great” coach and had to be prodded by Gayle Benson to dismiss him.
Allen was not a great coach. In fact, by the numbers, he was awful. In NFL history, 201 men have coached at least 50 games. Allen ranks 186th in winning percentage of that group.
The Saints trade of Marshon Lattimore before the deadline also raised some eyebrows. New Orleans got a nice package of picks for the talented, though often injured, Lattimore, but it is not the type of trade Loomis has made very often. Last year, Lattimore’s contract was altered to make it easier for the Saints to trade him. Was this move simply something that had been in the works for a while, or does it signal a philosophical shift for the franchise?
Because a shift is desperately needed, and it starts with Loomis, who no longer has Sean Payton to lean on when it comes to evaluating players. That goes for free agents of course, where the results have been mixed, but for the moment let’s concentrate on the NFL’s annual selection meeting.
Remember those Texans drafts? From 2021 to 2023, Houston drafted 23 players. Thirteen became starters. First round picks Stroud, Anderson and Stingley became stars, as did second round pick Jalen Pitre. Seven of the 13 were drafted on day three, when acquiring picks is easy, but hitting on them is difficult.
It is not just about tanking into one great pick.
In the same three-year span, the Saints drafted only 18 players. Six are starters: Chris Olave, Trevor Penning, Alonte Taylor, Pete Werner, Jordan Howden and Paulson Adebo.
Olave is a high-level player when healthy. Taylor may yet be a star. Werner and Adebo are good players. Howden is starting but needs more time, and Penning is hanging on after a rough start.
Of the other first round choices, Bryan Bresee seems to be improving, but Payton Turner has been a bust. Second day choices Isiah Foskey and Kendre Miller cannot get on the field. Four players are no longer with the team.
It’s very hard to justify keeping Loomis as a talent evaluator of players or coaches given these recent results without there being a complete reevaluation of the organization.
It can be done, and it can be done in a reasonable amount of time without risky free agency, quick fixes and contracts that far outlive the productivity of the players that have them. But it requires a general manager, front office and scouting department willing to look at how they are doing things and figure out why it isn’t working.
And if they won’t look at themselves, look at Houston.
