By: Brett Martel, The Associated Press
Posted:
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Saints have fired offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. along with senior offensive assistant Bob Bicknell and receivers coach Kodi Burns.
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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Saints have fired offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. along with senior offensive assistant Bob Bicknell and receivers coach Kodi Burns.
“These types of decisions are never easy to come to, but are necessary as we move forward,” Saints coach Dennis Allen, who oversees New Orleans’ defense, said in an announcement made Tuesday.
The Saints ranked 14th overall in yards per game with 337.2, but the offense — led by 10-year NFL veteran quarterback Derek Carr — often stagnated in clutch situations during the first 12 games of the season. New Orleans (9-8) started 5-7 before winning four of its final five games, narrowly missing out on the postseason because of unfavorable tiebreakers with Tampa Bay and Green Bay.
New Orleans converted just 53.3% of red zone opportunities into touchdowns, which ranked 18th. For much of the season, however, the Saints were in the bottom third of the NFL in that category and lost seven games by fewer than 10 points.
Carmichael has been with the Saints since 2006, when he was hired by then-rookie coach Sean Payton as quarterbacks coach in what also was QB Drew Brees’ first season in New Orleans.
Carmichael moved up to offensive coordinator under Payton in 2009, but the head coach primarily oversaw the design and calling of the offense that was run to record effect by the now-retired Brees for 15 seasons.
“I would especially like to thank Pete for his contributions to this staff for 18 seasons,” Allen said. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for the job he has done and as a colleague.”
When Payton, now the Denver Broncos’ coach, retired briefly after the 2021 season, Allen, who’d been promoted from his defensive coordinator role, retained Carmichael to oversee the offense.
While the unit’s overall production remained solid, it struggled to produce consistently during the past two seasons — hampered in part by instability at quarterback in 2022, when season-opening starter Jameis Winston was limited by a back injury and replaced for much of that season by veteran backup Andy Dalton.
The highlight of Carmichael’s tenure overseeing New Orleans’ offense came in 2012, when Payton was suspended in connection with the NFL’s bounty investigation into under-the-table cash rewards offered to defensive players for big and sometimes injurious hits under former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.
With Carmichael calling the plays and Brees under center, the Saints ranked second in the NFL in offense that season with 410.9 yards per game.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl