Changes In New Orleans: New Saints Interim Head Coach Details What's Different

Darren Rizzi has put some major changes in place for the Saints just a couple of days into his interim tenure.

Oct 20, 2022; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New Orleans Saints special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

New Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi said he was going to make changes to the team, and those were very evident on Wednesday. During his afternoon presser, he detailed those changes. He also revealed that he spoke to his mentor Bill Parcells, as well as Todd Bowles, Chris Tabor and Lions head coach Dan Campbell. Campbell and him are good friends, and he's actually a big reason he came to New Orleans in the first place. Here's a rundown of what has changed for the Saints just a couple of days into the Rizzi interim era.

Changes Darren Rizzi Made to the Saints

Jan 7, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi looks on against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

• Locker rooms have shifted to where position groups are sitting together. This was changed during COVID and never went back to the way it was. Rizzi said it was very well received. This will help with cohesion and allows the players to talk about things they just had in a meeting, for instance.
• An 'activation' period has been changed to the beginning of practice, which essentially is a warmup period for the players and a chance for them to get some sweat in before working. They'll work alongside the sports science and strength staff. Rizzi headed this up and this will hopefully cut down on soft tissue injuries.
• Typically, when we get our viewing window of practice, it's observing the stretch period followed by a small window of drills. It's around 20-30 minutes. Wednesday had more action due to the practice flow being changed. The daily practice schedule has changed, and the players are responding to it.
• Rizzi hired Marwan Maalouf as a quality control assistant for the special teams, as he has familiarity and worked under him during his time with the Dolphins. Maalouf knows the system and will handle watching the film, something Rizzi was doing. He'll still be heavily involved.
• Todd Grantham is out of the defensive line room and is now an assistant/advisor and will assist Joe Woods, who will handle play calling duties for the defense now.
• Brian Young (pass rush specialist) will run the defensive line.
• Young and linebacker coach Michael Hodges will handle the run game plan for the defense. Secondary coach Marcus Robertson and Woods will handle the passing game plan.
• The team even changed practice looks, flipping the offense and defense to the opposite side of the field. Normally, the defense worked near the workout room and the offense would work near the goal post. Rizzi said it was a cosmetic change that he wanted to give a different feel for the players.