Former Eagles OC Predicted to Have ‘Nightmarish’ First Year in NFC South

It’s been several generations since the New Orleans Saints were so bad they were the laughingstock of the NFL — a bygone era where the team was called the “Aints” and fans attended games with paper bags over their heads.

Like anything else, old trends sometimes come back around, and 2025 might be the year Saints fans dust off those old bags and pray better days are on the way.

If the Saints go fully in the tank this season, they’ll do so with a rookie head coach in former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who took the job after the Eagles topped the Kansas City Chiefs, 40-22, in Super Bowl LIX on February 9 in New Orleans.

The Saints have the lowest projected win total in the NFL according to VegasInsider.com, at 4.5 wins — what seems like a lock if NFL fans want to bet the under.

“A successful season as Eagles OC led Kellen Moore to a head coaching position, but he could be in for a nightmare season,” USA Today and Eagles Wire’s Geoffrey A Knox wrote on June 29. “His best quarterback had health concerns. Then, he retired. Rookie quarterback Tyler Shough will need to get up to speed quickly, or we could be in for another run by Spencer Rattler.”

It’s not a leap the Saints could finish with a 1-16 record in 2025. It would be their worst season since going 1-15 in 1980, in the heart of the “Aints” era, and would put the Saints in line to make a historical move in the 2026 NFL draft.

Moore, Saints Might Go In Tank for No. 1 Pick

You can make a good argument there are only 4 games on the Saints’ 2025 schedule that might be considered even reasonably winnable — a pair of games against their NFC South rival Carolina Panthers along with a Week 16 home game against the New York Jets and a Week 17 road game against the Tennessee Titans.

While the 2025 NFL draft was kind of a wasteland for quarterbacks, the 2026 is fertile ground for picking quarterbacks — Pro Football Network’s latest mock draft has 5 quarterbacks going in the first round.

It’s a possible sixth quarterback that might make the Saints suffering through a miserable season worth it — University of Texas quarterback and New Orleans native Arch Manning.

Arch Manning’s Deep Ties To Saints, Nola

Manning is the nephew of former No. 1 overall picks and quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Eli Manning and the grandson of former Saints quarterback and 1971 NFL draft No. 2 overall pick Archie Manning, who quarterbacked the team for 10 seasons.

Arch Manning has been the Longhorns’ backup quarterback to Quinn Ewers the last 2 seasons. In 2024, Manning went 2-0 starting in place of an injured Ewers and accounted for 1,047 yards of total offense and 13 total touchdowns — 9 passing and 4 rushing.

“For Arch, how tempting must the opportunity be to play in your hometown for the same franchise that brought the Manning name to the world stage?” CBS Sports reporter Shehan Jeyarajah wrote on May 11. “The Manning family is Louisiana royalty, and has been for more than 50 years … Arch went to Texas to blaze his own path, separate from his grandfather and uncles. However, it’s been more than 40 years since a Manning put on Saints black and gold. It would be a legendary homecoming.”