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The New Orleans Saints are looking for a new head coach after a disaster of a season that saw them move on from Dennis Allen about halfway through the schedule. Now, the Saints are looking for the next person to lead the franchise as they continue their rebuild.
Due to the state of the roster, the Saints could turn to a veteran coach who has a culture-setting reputation to try to keep the team competitive while they are likely undermanned from a talent perspective over the next few seasons. One of those options could be Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.
McCarthy's contract with the Cowboys is almost up, and he can negotiate a new extension with the Dallas front office through Jan. 14 before his deal expires and he is free to talk to other teams. However, McCarthy and the Cowboys were unable to come to an agreement on a new deal, so he will be pursuing other opportunities elsewhere. As a result, he is available for the Saints to try and go get.
Now that McCarthy is officially on the open market, the Saints and the Chicago Bears both have interest in hiring the former Cowboys and Green Bay Packers head coach, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media.
This Saints roster is still recovering from a difficult cap situation that they created during their contending years with Sean Payton and Drew Brees, and the team's talent pool has really dried up as some of those expensive veterans have gotten older and seen their level of play fall off.
A culture-setting head coach is probably the way to go for the Saints considering the state of their offense. They don't appear to have a franchise quarterback given how Spencer Rattler performed at times this season, and they don't have a lot of talent on the unit overall. Chris Olave is still a very good wide receiver, but he can't stay healthy for an entire season right now. Alvin Kamara is still the engine of the offense, but he is getting older and has moved past his prime.
The Bears could also use a head coach like McCarthy who is offensive minded but will also get buy-in from the entire roster like McCarthy has done during his time in Dallas. Chicago is going extremely in-depth with their coaching search, but it would make sense that an experienced option like McCarthy would be near the top of the list.
We have seen the benefits of hiring a culture-setting head coach in recent years. Look at what Mike Vrabel did with the Tennessee Titans during his time there or what Jim Harbaugh did with the Los Angeles Chargers this season. Even the Cowboys were able to remain competitive under McCarthy this season after Dak Prescott went down with an injury. That type of coach could be an attractive option for the Saints in this cycle.
