By Ross Jackson
Okay, but this time for real: After yet another round of conflicting reports regarding the New Orleans Saints’ head coaching search, the team has added another name to its interview list.
Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Saints have officially requested to interview Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.
This comes on the heels of a similar report from NFL Insider Josina Anderson on Wednesday, which was refuted by Matthew Paras of NOLA.com. According to Paras’ sources, the Saints had not requested to speak with Kingsbury “at this time” on Wednesday. However, that appears to have changed Thursday morning.
The refuted information regarding Kingsbury was the third instance of contradictory coaching news. Earlier this week, both Denver Broncos staffers—David Shaw (senior personnel executive) and Davis Webb (quarterbacks coach)—were rumored to have been requested by the Saints, but new information struck those reports down.
Interviewing Kingsbury is an interesting move for the Saints. It represents a willingness to depart from their status quo, as their familiarity with the former Arizona Cardinals head coach is limited—though he was a player on the Saints’ offseason and practice squad rosters in 2004 and 2005. Saints executive vice president and general manager Mickey Loomis has held the GM role since 2002.
Kingsbury’s departure from the norm is likely to extend to the quarterback position as well. Finding success with dynamic passers has been his bread and butter since working with Johnny Manziel as Texas A&M’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2012.
He finished his time as the Cardinals’ head coach with a 28-37-1 record, with his best season coming in 2021, when the team went 11-6 and made a playoff appearance. That team ranked in the top 10 in both rushing and passing yardage and No. 11 in scoring.
