Saints continue to build 'Raiders East' with latest front office hire

When in doubt, get more Raiders. That is exactly the plan in place for the New Orleans Saints heading into the 2024 NFL Draft. The Saints not only promoted their former head coach Dennis Allen from within a few years ago, they traded for former Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr last offseason. Not to be outdone, the Saints are now hiring former Raiders general manager Dave Ziegler.

CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones reported that Ziegler will be joining the Saints' front office for the next two months in an advisory role ahead of the draft. He may have been part of three Super Bowl-winning teams from his time with the New England Patriots, but Ziegler and former Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels did not even make it through year two at the helm of the Las Vegas operation.

Yes, for the third offseason in a row, the Saints have made a huge move by adding a former Raider. Allen may not have worked with Ziegler, but both are well-versed in all things Carr. Together, they need to figure out how to win the most winnable division in football before the arch rival Atlanta Falcons do. Right now, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are still the team to beat, but are trending down.

If Ziegler is anything like his Raiders predecessor Mike Mayock, get ready for some Clemson stars...

This may be a role better served for Ziegler, but you have to wonder what the Saints are even doing.

New Orleans Saints hiring Dave Ziegler to a temp draft advisory role

Seemingly every offseason, at least one quarter of the league needs to look for a new head coach. We got exactly that amount with the eight head-coaching changes made last month. While we have a full season's worth of games next year to find out who could be on the chopping block next, you would have to put Allen on a shortlist of most likely to be gone after 2024. He may even be top-three.

After reaching the postseason in Drew Brees' final season with the team in 2020, the Saints have failed to qualify for the playoffs each of the last three years. While they haven't exactly bottomed out, the franchise feels directionless, especially since Allen took over for Sean Payton in 2022. Trading for Carr did not make things all that much better, so why would bringing in Ziegler feel any differently?

Overall, it really feels like playoffs or bust for everyone associated with the Saints. The front office has kicked the can down the road for more than a decade now. With only one Super Bowl to show for it, this team is destined for a true and honest rebuild in the coming years. The question is if Mickey Loomis will accept the inevitable, or keep delaying it. The Saints need to hit the resest button badly.

If you aspire to be Raiders East, then your priorities as an NFL franchise are completely misguided.