3 Saints' head coach hires to avoid: Lane Kiffin, Kliff Kingsbury and more

The best Saints head coach ever — Sean Payton — had no head coaching experience when he came to New Orleans after the 2005 season. The second-best head coach in franchise history — Jim Mora — had no NFL head coaching experience when he arrived before the 1986 season, but he won two USFL championships as head coach at Philadelphia and Baltimore in 1985 and '86.

The Saints went for two NFL head coaching veterans who had won Super Bowls — Hank Stram in 1976 and Mike Ditka in 1997. But both were disasters and fired in three years or less. The most recent Saints head coach, Dennis Allen, was a rising NFL coordinator and had NFL head coaching experience, but that was also a disaster. He was fired midway through his third season Monday after a 2-7 start that included seven straight losses as he fell to 18-25 overall as the Saints' coach. His prior NFL head coaching experience should have been considered more. It was bad — 8-28 with the Oakland Raiders from 2012-14 before top work as a Saints' defensive coordinator.

So what's a new owner to do? Gayle Benson, who has been chief owner of the Saints since her husband Tom Benson's death in 2018, will make the most important decision of her NFL career after blowing the first one by allowing Allen to be hired after the 2021 season.

Should she let general manager Mickey Loomis make the call again? He was the one who hired Allen and has been the Saints' GM since 2002. Loomis is also 46-61 (.429 winning percentage) as a GM without Payton, who operated as a de facto GM. It should be noted that the last time the Saints lost seven straight, Mr. Benson fired head coach Mike Ditka and general manager Bill Kuharich after a 3-13 finish. But it seems like Loomis has tenure.

Mrs. Benson has leaned on Loomis too much and will likely yield to him again as she likely does not have the wherewithal to clean house. If Loomis indeed makes the hire again, here are three potential Saints' head coaches that he should avoid.

1. Lane Kiffin

The most successful head coach at Ole Miss since Johnny Vaught in the 1950s and '60s, Kiffin is an offensive genius who does not like to recruit. He prefers the NCAA Transfer Portal, which is akin to NFL free agency. So, he would probably enjoy the NFL more. It fits him better, and he has NFL head coaching experience. Unfortunately for him, it too much resembles that of Allen and it is with the same team.

Raiders owner Al Davis made Kiffin at 31 in 2007 the youngest NFL head coach since the mid-1940s. He was too young and his biggest previous job was USC offensive coordinator only briefly. He was 4-12 in his first season and 1-3 in 2008 with the Raiders before being let go. Kiffin's career ever since has been a combination of boy wonder and boy immature through a successful offensive coordinator run at Alabama between head coaching stops at Tennessee, USC, Florida Atlantic and now Ole Miss.

Kiffin has been a better coach than many NFL head coaches over the years, but at 49 he may still lack the maturity to lead an NFL franchise. You never know for sure what you have with him. He would be worth a shot, but it would be a risk. NFL players may not take him seriously.

2. Kliff Kingsbury

Like Kiffin, Kingsbury got his first NFL head coaching job without deserving it. After going 35-40 as Texas Tech's head coach with only two winning seasons out of six from 2013-18, he landed the Arizona Cardinals job. After 5-10 and 8-8 seasons, he went an impressive 11-6 in 2021 before falling to 4-13 and getting fired.

A great offensive mind and just 45, Kingsbury is having a great year with quarterback Jayden Daniels as the Washington Commanders' offensive coordinator. But, like Kiffin, he may not be ready quite yet for a second chance in the NFL.

1. Darren Rizzi

The Saints' special teams coordinator since 2019, Rizzi was promoted to interim head coach on Monday as Allen was fired. He had been in charge of Saints' special teams since 2019 after leaving that post following nine seasons with Miami.

His only head coaching experience is at Division II New Haven (1999-2001) and FCS Rhode Island (2008) and he went 18-23. Teams often play well for an interim coach as the firing of a losing head coach gives everyone an emotional lift. So, Benson and company shouldn't get too excited if Rizzi wins a couple of games.

The Saints took the next man up in Rizzi. He was assistant head coach since 2022, in his sixth season with the team and part of the hallowed Payton staff. The Saints took the next man up when it hired Allen after the 2021 season. He had been the team's defensive coordinator since 2015 and was a Payton guy.

The Saints need a fresh start with this head coach hire - someone with little or no ties to the Saints. There are no more next men up. A rising, young NFL assistant from somewhere else, like Payton, may be the best bet.