The New Orleans Saints have learned their fair share of lessons over the years.
According to one of their former executives, he's used some of what he learned in New Orleans to help him with his new team, which just so happens to be a hated rival of the Saints. Oh, the coincidences in the NFL.
Terry Fontenot admits a mistake with the Saints
New Orleans' plan for life after Drew Brees was not really the issue for Fontenot and company. It was the fact that there was seemingly no plan for that timeframe after the legendary QB was finished playing.
The now Atlanta Falcons general manager now understands the flawed "plan" that happened in New Orleans.
He wanted to avoid missing out on a succession plan for a veteran QB with questions about his playing future (Kirk Cousins).
Drew Brees' impact
It is no secret that Brees is one of the best quarterbacks to hit the gridiron. The stats back that up in a major way.
Replacing him for New Orleans was basically impossible. That being said, a combination of Jameis Winston, Taysom Hill, and Trevor Siemian was not quite the fix.
Meanwhile in Atlanta right now, they did almost the exact opposite.
They targeted a young quarterback with potential when many folks did not even expect them to in last year's draft. In fact, you can probably say the selection of Michael Penix Jr. was the most surprising pick of round one last year.
Clearly, they had this plan in mind, though, even after signing Cousins to a multi-year deal following a major injury.
