Saints in play: Which head-coach background produces most NFL wins?

Aaron Glenn is a former NFL player with a defensive coaching pedigree. Liam Coen and Ben Johnson are the latest offensive masterminds, rookie head coaches who never played past college. Pete Carroll is a veteran, CEO-type leader who could take the reins of the Raiders and won’t call plays on either side of the ball. Now that the spotlight shifts to the Saints, which background has produced the most success as a head coach?

Mike Triplett did the research. The longtime beat writer who covers the Saints for NewOrleans.Football dove into the 50 head coaches hired over the previous eight cycles (2017-24). His conclusion showed the Saints and other teams taking time to methodically research and interview a wide range of candidates is the best approach. That’s because, in Triplett’s research, no background emerged as a clear-cut route to success.

“The biggest surprise for me was how evenly spread the hires have been among offensive first-timers, defensive first-timers and former head coaches,” wrote Triplett, who broke down each category into tiers of success. “I would’ve guessed there were more OCs. But the first-time offensive hires and experienced NFL coaches were neck-and-neck as having the highest success rate. When you factor in former head coaches with Super Bowl experience, they have the edge.”

That would favor former Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, reportedly working to schedule an in-person interview in New Orleans next week. Patient while Southern Louisiana dealt with a rare snowstorm this week, the Saints have had to reschedule second interviews with Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver. Throw in special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi, who impressed Saints players as their interim head coach in 2024, and the Saints have covered every coaching background in their search.

Largely immune to the NFL’s game of head-coach musical chairs, New Orleans has focused on a list of realistic candidates. The Saints had a second interview scheduled with Glenn, their former defensive backs coach, but weren’t surprised that he chose the Jets before sitting down with New Orleans. Coen’s surprise reversal on Thursday didn’t affect the Saints because they didn’t see him as a good fit from the start.

New Orleans, however, is set up to benefit from fortuitous timing. The Saints still have at least three candidates competing for a Super Bowl berth on Sunday, including Joe Brady in Buffalo and Kellen Moore in Philadelphia. And while Kliff Kingsbury reportedly will focus on the Commanders until they’re done playing, the Washington offensive coordinator could be done on Sunday — and could be a fantastic fit on the Superdome sideline. The Saints certainly don’t need to reach.

“Every team should have interest in a young rising offensive coordinator,” Triplett said. “But that’s exactly the problem: Every team does want those guys, which has thinned the herd a bit and could force teams to reach in certain instances. 

“Brady, Moore and Kingsbury can all enhance their candidacies with one or two more wins in the coming weeks, which could help them win the public relations aspect of the hire. But McCarthy, Rizzi and even Weaver to an extent come with more of that ‘culture builder/leader of men’ cachet.”

And whatever cachet the Saints select, like draft picks and wine, there’s no way to truly gauge whether they made the best decision until the multiple Mardi Gras celebrations come and go.

For more information on the Saints or the NFL hiring cycle, visit the New Orleans team page and the Coach/GM Carousel page at ProFootballPost.com.