Darren Rizzi has a major goal as New Orleans Saints interim head coach that goes beyond wins and losses. He wants to restore a “domefield” advantage in New Orleans.
There was once a time where the Caesars Superdome was on the list of places opposing teams didn’t want to go. That magic had faded away. The Saints haven’t had a winning record at home since Drew Brees retired, going 2-5 at the Superdome in 2021 (not counting a “home” win in Jacksonville due to Hurricane Ida), 4-4 in 2022 (discounting their “home” loss in London), and 5-3 in 2023, with a 2-3 start to this season’s home slate. That’s a 13-15 home record altogether.
After knocking off the Atlanta Falcons, Rizzi declared, “We are going to get this dome back to where it used to be and that was just the start.” Part of restoring the aura has to do with winning games. The Saints hadn’t been doing that at home or on the road lately, so Rizzi was concerned if the fans were going to be bought in. He clearly underestimated how much the coaching change reinvigorated the fanbase.
That mistake won’t be made again. Rizzi complimented the home crowd by saying, “our fans were incredible today.” He credited the fans’ engagement for forcing the visiting Falcons into some errors, such as jumping offsides.
He knows this city wants a winner and the team wants to give them that just as badly. This is just one win, but that’s how every winning streak starts.
