By Ross Jackson
After several former New Orleans Saints players have shared their opinions that the team should hire Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn as their next head coach, a current player has publicly shared a differing opinion.
Saints running back Alvin Kamara took to social media to share this belief that interim head coach and special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi should be the team’s next full-time head coach.
“Aite my vote for head coach rhyme wit Fizzi…” Kamara posted on X.
Aite my vote for head coach rhyme wit Fizzi…
— Alvin Kamara (@A_kamara6) January 21, 2025
“Fizzi” of course rhymes with only one current candidate, that being Rizzi. The coach has been with New Orleans since 2019 working with the special teams unit. He added the title of assistant head coach in 2022 and became the team’s interim when former coach Dennis Allen was fired during the 2024 season.
As soon as Rizzi took over, he appointed Kamara as a team captain along with the numerous changes he made on the coaching staff, to the practice schedule and more.
Rizzi did a fantastic job generating buy-in among the player roster and coaching staff also. General manager and executive vice president Mickey Loomis praised Rizzi for the job he did under some otherwise challenging circumstances.
“I think he did a really good job under some really tough circumstances,” Loomis said during his end of year press conference.
Hiring an interim coach has produced some not-so-successful results around the league, but there are some exceptions. Ex-Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett being the most notable success story after taking over for the fired Wade Phillips in 2010. Garrett remained with Dallas until he was dismissed after the 2019 season. During his time as the head coach, Garrett went 85-67 in the regular season with three postseason appearances, during which he went 2-3.
Many fans are hoping for wide-ranging change in New Orleans and a hire of Rizzi would not preclude that.
New Orleans will need a new defensive coordinator and could potentially be in the market for a new offensive coordinator with Klint Kubiak taking two interviews with the Seattle Seahawks for their open position. There’s a chance that if Rizzi were to earn the full-time job, a lot of change could still be on the way around him.
With top candidates otherwise available, Rizzi may be in need of the player vote. Getting a public one from Kamara certainly goes a long way.
