New Orleans Saints May Need To Move Quickly To Get Their Offensive Coordinator

With one of their initial four offensive coordinator candidates already gone, the Saints may need to move swiftly for one of the remaining three coaches.

The New Orleans Saints might have to move quickly if they are to get one of their first interview candidates at offensive coordinator. The candidate in question is Cincinnati Bengals quarterback coach Dan Pitcher. New Orleans interviewed Pitcher via Zoom meeting late last week for their offensive coordinator spot, a role vacated when the team parted ways with longtime coordinator Pete Carmichael. 

New Orleans had also shown interest in former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, Los Angeles Rams QB coach Zac Robinson, and Houston Texans QB coach Jerrod Johnson. On Monday, Waldron agreed to become the offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears. Robinson and Johnson also have several other interviews lined up.

Pitcher's second interview with the Saints is reportedly scheduled for Thursday. However, Pitcher might be persuaded to stay with Cincinnati. On Monday night, NFL Insider Adam Schefter reports that the Tennessee Titans are set to hire current Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan as their next head coach. 

Pitcher, 37, has been an offensive assistant with Cincinnati since 2016. He had previously worked in the scouting department for the Indianapolis Colts for four years. When Zac Taylor was hired as the Bengals head coach in 2019, Pitcher was promoted from WR coach to QB coach. It's a role he's held since under Cincinnati offensive coordinator Brian Callahan. 

Led by QB Joe Burrow and offensive stars like WRs Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, and RB Joe Mixon, the Bengals had one of the NFL's top offenses in 2021 and 2022. Burrow missed the final seven games of this season with a wrist injury. Cincinnati's receiving corps was also battered by injuries most of the year. 

Despite the injury woes, the Bengals still had a productive offense down the stretch. Pitcher helped oversee the rapid development of QB Jake Browning, who took over for Burrow in those seven contests. 

An undrafted quarterback in 2019 that was seeing his first NFL action, Browning helped steer the Bengals to 23.5 points per game and a 4-3 record in his seven starts. He completed 70.4% of his passes and averaged 267 passing yards per outing with 11 touchdowns and 7 interceptions in those starts.

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor, left, calls a play alongside quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher. © Kareem Elgazzar / USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK

With Brian Callahan now gone, the Bengals can be expected to make a hard push towards promoting Pitcher to offensive coordinator. They may even attach an associate head coach title onto the role, which would prevent any other team from poaching him unless it's for a head coaching role. 

The Saints could still hire Pitcher as their offensive coordinator without violating league regulations about a lateral move. However, they'd likely need to make a decision quickly and the financial price tag may have gone up. Pitcher also has interviews with the New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders for their offensive coordinator positions.

Bengals coach Zac Taylor is also a former offensive coordinator under Rams head coach Sean McVay. The Saints could offer Pitcher the opportunity to be completely in charge of an offense for the first time in his coaching career.