Many NFL teams are already hiring their next head coaches. The New England Patriots hired Mike Vrabel, and the Chicago Bears landed former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
The New Orleans Saints are also in the market for a new leader, after the team fired Dennis Allen after Week 9. Darren Rizzi took over as interim head coach, but he has been interviewing with other teams for a potential return to a special teams role.
New Orleans is taking a longer look at Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver and New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka. However, Saints running back Alvin Kamara has now weighed in on who he prefers to be the team's next leader.
Kamara took to X to state, "Aite my vote for head coach rhyme wit Fizzi..."
Kamara's comment is a direct nod to Rizzi, who took over as interim head coach. The issue is the Saints organization appears deadset on moving on from Rizzi.
It will be interesting to see if the Saints' most important player gains any sway on the decision, which wouldn't be the first time this has happened.
The Las Vegas Raiders hired interim head coach Antonio Pierce as head coach following many public calls to do so. Las Vegas star defensive end Maxx Crosby even went so far as to state he would request a trade if Pierce wasn't brought back.
Kamara has been instrumental in leading the Saints' offense, and he recently signed a two-year, $24.5 million extension with the organization in Oct. 2024.
If more Saints players join Kamara in voting for Rizzi to return, it might lead to the team giving him a longer look. New Orleans did just state that extreme weather has led to in-person interviews being paused.
This delay could give more players time to weigh on Rizzi returning, much like Kamara has. This is just speculation, but a franchise player voting for a head coach to return should mean quite a bit.
The Saints need a head coach who can return them to playoff relevance, and that person might be one of the candidates mentioned above. Then again, that person might also be Rizzi.
Rizzi has been with the organization since 2019 when he took over as special teams coordinator. He followed the 2019 to 2021 stint by being promoted to assistant head coach and special teams coordinator from 2022 to 2024.
