By Ross Jackson
A quick look back to lastseason’s postgame confrontation between then New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons head coaches Dennis Allen and Arthur Smith will tell you a lot.
After former Saints quarterback Jameis Winston broke victory formation only to hand the ball off to running back Jamaal Williams for his lone rushing touchdown of the 2023 season, tempers flared. New Orleans already held a commanding, 41-17, lead with just over a minute left in the game, and Smith took exception.
The coach would later be fired by the Falcons, but not before he made it known that he considered the last-minute touchdown “classless” as he chased down and shouted at Allen on the field following the blowout Saints win. This is the moment every Saints fan can look to in trying to decipher what they had against what they now have at head coach.
During the heated exchange, Allen can be seen trying to de-escalate the irate Smith. Meanwhile, a New Orleans staffer in a gold hat is very clearly taking the opposite approach, pointing and seemingly shouting back at Smith, forcing the Falcons coach to eventually turn around and briefly respond before retreating to this visiting locker room.
That gold-capped instigator is now-Saints Interim Head Coach Darren Rizzi.
While Allen infamously apologized to the bitter rival in his postgame media availability, Rizzi was clearly ready for the smoke. That is one illustration of the differences between what was and what is.
Rizzi’s intensity and gritty nature were on full display, and in speaking to him since accepting his new role, neither are lacking despite his advanced title.
“I grew up a little bit of a fighter,” Rizzi said as he was introduced as the team’s interim head coach. “I’ve never really been handed anything. I was a walk-on player in college. I was a free agent in the NFL. I started my coaching career in Division II. I mean, I’ve had to work hard for everything I’ve gotten, and this is no different.”
Under Rizzi, the Saints and Falcons rivalry could find new life.
With both teams struggling to find consistency over recent years, the usually entertaining “hate week” between the two teams has felt flat and not nearly as incendiary as it once was.
However, Rizzi’s personality doesn’t seem to fall too terribly far from the Sean Payton tree. Rizzi wants his guys to play with attitude and swagger and promises the Saints will not be boring to watch. All of those ingredients, along with his New Jersey attitude and clear comfort in confrontation, could provide this rivalry a much-needed shot in the arm.
Rizzi’s first game as interim will be this weekend against the 6-3, NFC South-leading, Falcons who look to steamroll a reeling Saints team in its home stadium. Atlanta smells blood in the water as the Saints have been in the news all week, not for their successes, but their losses.
The Saints lost a game they should have won last weekend against the Carolina Panthers. In the process, they lost their top wide receiver Chris Olave for an indefinite period of time as he seeks advice from specialists after suffering his fourth concussion in his third NFL season. The loss spawned Allen’s dismissal, and the impending rebuild became apparent when the team traded away star cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
Atlanta would love nothing more than to show up to the Caesars Superdome to add insult to injury. Meanwhile, Rizzi is working to get his team in the best place to compete against and potentially play spoiler to its most bitter historical rival.
Even if Rizzi gets only this one rivalry game as the team’s leader, it could be the matchup that restarts the bitterness that was once pervasive and unable to be ignored between these two teams. An interim coach without much to lose but a ton to gain, with a big heart for his players and no love lost for his enemies could help finally revive one of the NFL best and most underappreciated feuds.
