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Katherine Terrell, ESPN Staff Writer
NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Saints‘ new offense is starting to come together with less than two months until offseason practices.
The Saints had a quiet free agency period on offense, adding only a few players but revamping almost their entire coaching staff.
That was evident when most of the contingent was assembled to watch LSU’s pro day in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Wednesday. The Saints replaced longtime offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael with Klint Kubiak, 37, and have new coaches to oversee the wide receivers, running backs, quarterbacks and offensive line.
Saints coach Dennis Allen said the the offense Kubiak plans to run — likely a version of the Gary Kubiak/Mike Shanahan system of offense — is one that has worked in the league for a long time.
“I think that system of offense, there’s certainly a lot of variations of it, they’re not all the same,” Allen said. “But I think that system … is something that’s done well in our league for a long period of time. I think it’s something that I think we can incorporate and I think we have the type of players that fit well in that system.”
With new coaches will come new offensive philosophies, and Allen said they plan to incorporate more play-action than they did in 2023. New Orleans had 77 play-action pass attempts last season, the fewest in the NFL.
“I mean obviously drop back is going to be a part of it, but the main emphasis is going to be able to … run the ball effectively and then be able to create some shot places in the passing game off the play-action. I think that’s something that we can use,” Allen said at the annual league meeting.
Allen said he already feels like there’s familiarity within the offensive staff. Senior offensive assistant Rick Dennison has extensive history with Kubiak’s father, Gary, having both played with and coached for him. New offensive line coach John Benton also coached for Gary Kubiak during his entire Houston Texans tenure from 2006-2013.
New quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko had the same position under Kubiak when he was the Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator in 2021.
“I’ve known the Kubiak family since the early ’90s when I was playing at Texas A&M and Gary coached there,” Allen said. “I remember watching Gary play when I was growing up. … I feel like I’ve kind of known that family a little bit and Klint is a guy that I’ve kind of followed his career a little bit. I felt like it was a good fit for what we wanted to do.”
With free agency cooling down, here’s how New Orleans’ offense is shaping up:
Quarterbacks
In: Nathan Peterman
Out: Jameis Winston
Returning: Derek Carr, Taysom Hill, Jake Haener
Backup quarterback Winston signed with the Cleveland Browns in free agency and the Saints brought in Peterman, who was a backup for the Chicago Bears. Peterman played for Janocko for two seasons with the Bears.
Carr, who left three games with injuries last season but did not miss a start, won’t have an established backup behind him. Peterman, who has five career starts and a 1-4 record in those games, will compete with Haener for the backup spot.
Haener was a fourth-round pick in 2023 and was suspended the first six games of the season for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy. He did not see playing time.
Hill will return in his previous capacity as a hybrid quarterback/tight end who plays a number of different roles.
Offensive line
In: Olisaemeka Udoh
Out: Andrus Peat, Max Garcia, Cameron Erving
Returning: Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz, James Hurst, Ryan Ramczyk, Trevor Penning, Nick Saldiveri, Landon Young, Tommy Kraemer, Mark Evans II
The offensive line has the biggest questions of any positions on the team. The Saints will return two starters in center McCoy and right guard Ruiz, but the other positions could be up for grabs.
Starting right tackle Ramczyk is battling a knee issue that casts doubt on his availability, while 2022 first-round pick Penning would have to earn back a role as starting left tackle after being benched early last season.
The Saints did not re-sign former left guard Peat, who moved to left tackle last season, but the team brought in Udoh, who has played both tackle and guard.
All of those questions could certainly leave this position open for the Saints to select an offensive tackle high in the draft.
Wide receivers
In: Cedrick Wilson Jr., Stanley Morgan
Out: Michael Thomas, Keith Kirkwood
Returning: Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, A.T. Perry
Longtime Saints receiver Thomas won’t return to the team after being designated a post-June 1 cut at the beginning of the league year. That leaves 23-year-old Olave as the most tenured player in the room.
The Saints will also return Pro Bowl kick returner Shaheed, 25, and second-year player Perry, 24. That lack of experience is one of the reasons the Saints added 28-year-old Wilson Jr., who has played five seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins.
“I feel like the addition of Cedrick Wilson gives a little bit of a veteran presence, somebody that’s kind of been there, done that. So I thought that was kind of a good piece,” Allen said.
The Saints also replaced wide receivers coach Kodi Burns with Keith Williams, who was with the Baltimore Ravens the past three seasons.
“I think his demeanor is going to be something that we need in that room. He’s going to be tough on them, he’s going to be demanding of them, and yet he understands how to relate to them,” Allen said. “I’m kind of excited about watching that dynamic and seeing how that plays out. I think he’s going to be good for that room.”
Allen indicated that the Saints could continue to be looking for another pass-catcher, stressing that it wouldn’t necessarily be another receiver.
“I think that’s still probably a position that we’ll look to see if we can’t find somebody to add,” Allen said.
Running backs
In: Zander Horvath (FB)
Out: Eno Benjamin
Returning: Alvin Kamara, Kendre Miller, Jamaal Williams, James Robinson, Jordan Mims, Adam Prentice (FB)
The Saints didn’t make any splash moves at this position like they attempted to do last year when bringing in Williams, who led the NFL with 17 touchdowns in 2022.
Williams had a disappointing year, rushing for only 306 yards and scoring a controversial touchdown on the last play of the season. Kamara rushed for a career-low 694 yards but had five rushing touchdowns. He also caught 75 passes for 466 yards and a touchdown.
Saints running backs coach Joel Thomas left for the same position with the New York Giants and the team hired Derrick Foster, who previously had the same position with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Tight ends
In: None
Out: Jimmy Graham
Returning: Juwan Johnson, Foster Moreau, Michael Jacobson, Tommy Hudson
The Saints didn’t do much at this position, retaining tight ends coach Clancy Barone and bringing back Hill, Johnson and Moreau, who caught 91 combined passes for seven touchdowns.
They did not re-sign Graham after his one-year deal expired. Although Graham was once the focal point of the Saints’ offense in his first stint in New Orleans, he played sparingly last year, catching six passes for 39 yards and four touchdowns.
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