Ronald Curry Talks Saints Quarterback Room, Pete Carmichael

We caught up with Ronald Curry after Thursday's OTAs to talk about the Saints quarterback room and Pete Carmichael.

John Hendrix | Jun 9, 2022

Ronald Curry has been around the Saints since 2016 after a small coaching stint with the 49ers from 2014-2015, and has only progressed since landing in New Orleans. He was promoted to quarterbacks coach in 2021 to replace Joe Lombardi after working his way up from being an offensive assistant and wide receivers coach, and this season he takes on an additional role as the team's passing game coordinator.

Curry is no stranger to how things are supposed look in the NFL, especially when it comes to the quarterback and wide receiver position. He spent several seasons with the Raiders after being drafted by them in 2002 as a 7th Round pick. He started as a quarterback, and then went to wide receiver where he flourished and went on to play until the beginning of the 2009 season.

His task is quite interesting this year, but something that he's undoubtedly going to meet head on. Most of the Saints' successes or failures will come down to Jameis Winston, and Curry talked about him and the quarterback room on Thursday with Saints News Network.

USATSI_18414826_168388561_lowres — Jun 2, 2022; Metairie, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints Jameis Winston (2) works on passing drills during organized team activities at the New Orleans Saints Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

"He's always been hungry, always been determined, always been a competitor," Curry said after practice.

"I think the biggest thing is just he's coming in knowing he's a starter. So, his leadership style is a little bit different. Taking a little bit more ownership of the offense, ownership in his actions, ownership of what happens out there, so that's the biggest thing, just the more he's just taking more ownership of what we do."

While the sample size is small, the ownership is something that has been on display even more this season. Winston is 'the guy' going into 2022, and the Saints have given him an outstanding arsenal to help support him. That also includes veteran Andy Dalton, who mentioned when he joined the team that his role was to help support Winston as much as possible.

Curry said, "Guy can start on a lot of teams. He's doing a great job out here. Limiting Jameis on some of his reps, so he's getting in here with the ones and the twos. He's competitive. He's smart, he's accurate. He's everything he thought he would be, you know, he'll be a great backup for us, and if he had to play I think he'd do a great job."

Ian Book was put in an unfair situation last season having to play against the Dolphins when the team was riddled with COVID, among other issues. Last year's fourth-rounder is facing a big season, but Curry sees a totally different player in the Notre Dame product.

USATSI_18414722_168388561_lowres — Jun 2, 2022; Metairie, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints Ian Book (16) works on passing drills during organized team activities at the New Orleans Saints Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

"Totally different player. I mean, he knows the offense now. He's comfortable in it and he can spit it out. Actually, he had trouble just calling plays last year, and now he's spitting it out. In the offseason, he's corrected some of his throwing mechanics. He's always been an accurate thrower, but now the ball has a little steam, a little zip on it, and he's getting through his progressions. So, the game has slowed down for him, and I think he's a year more comfortable in our offense. You could tell."

Book is certainly in a spot to grow and develop learning from Winston and Dalton, and he concluded OTAs on Thursday with a nice two-minute drive that finished with a touchdown pass to Kirk Merritt on a fade route. One of the plays before, he hit Lucas Krull down the seam on a great throw and catch.

Much is made of Pete Carmichael and what he'll bring to the table in the new season, and Curry gave him a glaring vote of confidence and pointed out something that many don't realize about how the Saints operate behind closed doors.

"Pete's been here since 2006. He had a great example with Sean (Payton) on how to game plan and a lot of people don't know we sat in there as a group and we game planned together with Sean. Sean just called the plays on game day, because he's a genius and he did a great job of doing that, but I think Pete is gonna do a great job and he showed that he's more than capable of doing it in the past when he had to do it, and I don't see anything different this year."

We'll have to wait and see how things ultimately come together, but there's more reason to be optimistic when it comes to the Saints offense this year. In particular, Curry is certainly a coach to watch for the future, and a really strong year from Jameis Winston and company could help expedite things.

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