Orlando – Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak will bring with him a proven, successful system that fits the current New Orleans Saints roster, and hopefully can be installed seamlessly.
"I think that system of offense – there's certainly a lot of variations of it. They're not all the same," Saints Coach Dennis Allen said Tuesday, from the NFL owners meetings. "But I think that system is something that I think has done really well in our league, and done well in our league for a long period of time. And I think it's something that I think we can incorporate and I think we have the type of players that fit well in that system. I felt like it was a good fit for what we wanted to do.
"Just from a schematic standpoint, this whole offense is going to be based on kind of the run, play-action game. Dropback is going to be a part of it, but the main emphasis is going to be to be able to run the ball, run the ball effectively, and then be able to create some shot plays in the passing game off the play action. I think that's something that we can use."
But, Allen said, the goal is to be a physically imposing offense.
"I think there's a demeanor to the way in which we want to play offense. There's going to be a physicality with which we're going to have our guys playing. I think it's going to be cool to see."
Familiarity between the new hires will help with the installation process.
"With Klint and (senior offensive assistant Rick Dennison) and (offensive line coach) John Benton – these guys have been together before, and so I think there's some continuity in terms of getting the program off the ground and getting started," Allen said.
Kubiak and Dennison worked together on the staffs in Denver (2016) and Minnesota (2019-20), and Dennison and Benton were on the Texans' staff in 2013.
Allen also noted that the system should take advantage of quarterback Derek Carr's athleticism.
"Derek probably doesn't get enough credit for the athlete that he is," Allen said. "I think his athletic skill set will do well in this scheme. I think some of the things we did kind of later on in the season last year, some of the play-action passing game, benefited Derek. I thought our passing game came alive a little bit toward the end of the year and I think that's something he'll thrive in in this new system."
COMPETE STREET: Free agent signee Willie Gay will compete for a starting position on defense. The linebacker helped Kansas City win the last two Super Bowls.
"I think with bringing him on board, you have Willie, you have Demario (Davis), you have Pete Werner," Allen said. "Those are three guys that I know have played a lot of football in our league and played at a high level in our league. That gives us a little bit more depth, it gives us some more options of things we can do.
"Here's what I really appreciated, was, there was no expectation on his part that he's going to be coming in and handed the job. And yet, there's no expectation that he's just going to come in and be a backup, either.
"He's excited about the opportunity to come in and compete, he wants that opportunity and we're going to give him the opportunity. That stuff will play out throughout the course of OTAs, minicamp, training camp, preseason games. And then we'll evaluate where we're at. The cool thing is, we've got enough good football players, we'll find ways to utilize them and get them out there and get them being productive."
LOOKING FOR MORE: Two rookies from last season, defensive end Isaiah Foskey and offensive lineman Nick Saldiveri, will be counted on to increase production from last season. Foskey, the Saints' second-round pick, had nine tackles and a pass defensed in 10 games, and Saldiveri, a fourth-round pick, played in just four games.
Allen said he wants to see Foskey "cut it loose."
"This last year was a big learning year for him, and so my hope is that he has a great offseason, he understands what we're doing defensively and so he's less concerned about learning the defense and he's able to just go cut it loose and go play. I think that's what I'm looking to see."
Saldiveri is being counted on to contribute on the offensive line.
"Here's another young guy that we feel optimistic about, but we really don't know a lot about," Allen said. "We're anxious to see him get out there and get to work and see what he can do. When we drafted him, we drafted him as a kid we could bring in, develop and our vision would have been for him to develop into a starting guard. We'll see how quickly we can make that vision come to life."
