The New Orleans Saints have swiftly dropped from perennial contenders to laughingstocks. Justin Reid believes Kellen Moore is already setting the foundation to revive a championship culture in New Orleans.
The Saints have a few players with a Super Bowl victory on their resume. Reid, Khalen Saunders and Tyrann Mathieu won championships with Kansas City Chiefs. Moore and the coaches he brought with him from Philadelphia won a Super Bowl last year. Having champions on the team does not equate to championship culture, however.
What is Kellen Moore doing right?
"First and foremost, it’s culture over everything." Reid said after Thursday's practice.
Reid is entering his first year in New Orleans. For him, it isn't about what's changing. It's about the foundation. The safety comes to the Saints as a vocal leader who is pushing change forward. There's a player and coaching component within crafting that change.
As Reid laid out, he's the perfect person to gauge and report on what the vibe is. "I've been on mediocre teams, I’ve been on bad teams, I’ve been on great teams. And the culture in this locker room is right right now," Reid told reporters
It's only organized team activities, so there may be a little soon to conclude what type of team the Saints are. It's the intensity and attention to detail that Reid has appreciated. "Day 1 of OTAs, they ran it like a college program with the amount of conditioning and attention to detail. But I kind of like things that way. It feels more true to the sport.
The attention to detail is probably the biggest and most positive initiative being pushed. You can't be a Super Bowl team if you aren't attentive to detail. It's too early to say the culture is fixed, but per Reid, Moore's impact is already being felt.
The next step is filling out the roster. The team is aging and also just getting all around poor quality performances. The first two picks of the NFL draft are foundation setting picks, Kelvin Banks Jr. at left tackle and Tyler Shough at quarterback. This offseason is the beginning of a roster and cultural overhaul.
