Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
By Ross Jackson
New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan didn’t want to talk much about hypotheticals after day one of the team’s training camp. He wants to see results by the end of the season.
Every player and every team in the league takes the field with the intent to win football games. But sometimes the narrative around those performances can become about what could happen rather than what did or will.
That’s not a conversation that Jordan is currently willing to entertain without concrete success to show for it.
The Saints are bringing in an exciting new approach to defense under defensive coordinator Brandon Staley. The changes of philosophy and even some notable role shifts have sparked a lot of questions about how the defensive roster is settling in. But for Jordan, he’ll settle in when the Saints do one thing: win.
“At this point what I’m looking for is the effects,” Jordan said. “I want wins. I’ve had as much success as anybody in the league. Minus a [Defensive Player of the Year award]. I think I was robbed one year, but that’s just personal bias here. In terms of accolades, I’m headed towards the season, so I could care less what has happened before. I could care less how many sacks I have in a game. Which – those are great – we’ll talk about them after the season. Right now, I want wins.”
This is a pretty stark departure from the “look at the past results” aphorism that drew much ire following the termination of former head coach Dennis Allen.
For Jordan, who will be entering his fifteenth season in 2025, the only thing that matters are the results.
The Saints’ finished 5-12 last year and thus spent the offseason making several major changes including at head coach, all along the coaching staff, scheme on both sides of the ball and now are in the process of appointing their next starting quarterback.
Finding success in 2025 to build from last year won’t come easy, but Jordan clearly aspires to see progress from one year to the next.
