The New Orleans Saints firing of Dennis Allen and promotion of Darren Rizzi to interim head coach is still fresh as the Saints go through media appearances in the early afternoon on Monday. However, we now have the chance to hear from Rizzi regarding a wide variety of topics, and he most certainly showed his passion while discussing the team going forward.
One of the first points of emphasis he made was after he was asked what his message to the fans was, especially those who may have given up on the season. Rizzi responded with, “Listen, they should be pissed off. I’m pissed off, the fans should be pissed off, the people of New Orleans, the people of Louisiana, no one should be happy, and I think this city deserves a winner. They know what winning football looks like, and y’know it’s our job to bring that back. My message is this, I can’t promise alot, I can promise passion, I can promise fight, and I can tell you that team is gonna go out there every Sunday and that’s gonna be clear, that we’re gonna have a team that’s full of passion and a team that’s full of fighters. That I can promise you. Now the football’s gotta get better, the execution’s gotta get better, alright, but we’re not gonna lack those two things. We’re not gonna be boring to watch, that I can promise you.”
He also had a few other quotes regarding the team and moving forward from the 2-7 start, stating he wants to change how the team operates, going on to say “We’ve been doing things the same way around here for a long, long, long time.”
He would also say, “We’re going to look at everything. Everybody and everything is going to get evaluated and re-evaluated. Right now, the product is not acceptable.”
Regarding the injuries to the team, Rizzi mentioned he did not want to hear about the injuries, and that, “We have to execute better.” He also said that he spoke to Chris Olave on Monday, and that he was still being evaluated at this time.
One of the final notable points was regarding the quarterback position and where that stands, with Rizzi saying, “Derek Carr is going to be the quarterback on Sunday. … I’m not going down that road.”
Ultimately, for a first press conference, Rizzi did a great job showing his emotion towards the team and city, but also getting down to business and discussing what he intends to do with how the team currently operates.
