Saints' absurd offensive success behind Derek Carr should not be any surprise at all

If there was one big takeaway I had from the weekend that was in football, college and pro, it is that coaching absolutely matters. Teams that were well-coached found ways to win games they probably otherwise shouldn't have. Even in some close defeats, good coaching almost made up the difference. On the other side of the coin, poor coaching led to more talented teams losing or being embarrassed.

One such team where a coaching upgrade has been more prominently felt in the NFL has to be within the New Orleans Saints offense. They went from noted Sean Payton patsy Pete Carmichael Jr. to potentially the next great McVay/Shanahan disciple in Klint Kubiak. This one coaching change has transformed quarterback Derek Carr from being on his way out of town to be an NFL MVP candidate.

Because Carmichael is the equivalent of the Jump to Conclusions mat guy from Office Space, where do you think he works now? In the meantime, it might be a three-team race in the NFC South now between Atlanta, New Orleans and Tampa Bay. Not even a great offensive mind like Dave Canales can save Bryce Young from the David Tepper-induced hopelessness that he has festered to live in Charlotte...

The Saints may have enough firepower to hold off a desperate Philadelphia Eagles team this week.

Klint Kubiak is changing the game for Derek Carr and New Orleans Saints

Not to say this was a pleasant surprise, because we all had a feeling that Kubiak was going to be the real deal as an offensive coordinator, but who saw the Saints having one of the most unstoppable offenses in the league through two weeks? Yes, the Carolina Panthers are the worst team in the league and yes, the Dallas Cowboys have a myriad of issues on their own, but this is still impressive.

What it has done to the Saints in a national sense is it has changed the narrative surrounding this team, at least for the time being... It has taken some much-needed pressure off Carr, and especially off often-maligned head coach Dennis Allen. Entering this season, the Saints felt like they were teetering and about to careen off the track into a hopeless abyss of a rebuild. Well, maybe not yet?

Overall, I think we need to take a long and hard look at Kubiak potentially being a head-coaching candidate in this upcoming cycle. We do not have as deep of a candidate pool as what we will need to fill roughly eight head-coaching vacancies. While the Ben Johnsons and Bobby Slowiks of the world will get first crack at whatever jobs open up, I would not be shocked if Kubiak were to get one, too.

I had a feeling the Saints would be competitive this season, but I did not see this offensive buzzsaw.