Who will be the Saints’ next head coach? Breaking down the seven potential candidates​on January 23, 2025 at 1:20 pm

METAIRIE, La. — As the New Orleans Saints continue their coaching search, the candidate pool appears to be narrowing down.

Former Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn accepted a head coaching job with the New York Jets on Wednesday. The remaining candidates include Saints special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi, who also interviewed for the 2022 opening and has been the interim coach since Dennis Allen was fired in November. Former Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy is another contender for the job after his contract expired.

The length of this process has already gone beyond the 2022 search. The Saints took about two weeks to promote Allen, then the DC, after Sean Payton stepped away on Jan. 25, 2022. At the time, New Orleans also interviewed Glenn, current Minnesota Vikings DC Brian Flores and former Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Pederson but felt that multiple interviews with the candidates weren’t necessary.

“The timetable and time frame is dictated … mostly by the league policies and rules that we have to adhere to … and some of these candidates are still involved in playing games, and so that’ll dictate the timing,” Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said recently.

New Orleans has already completed one round of virtual interviews with a second round of in-person interviews expected this week.

There have been some delays to the process. Some of the candidates, like Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady and Philadelphia Eagles OC Kellen Moore, work with teams still in the playoffs. The team has also been unable to fly in candidates for interviews because of a snowstorm and extreme cold in New Orleans.

Two other teams have also completed their coaching searches, with the New England Patriots hiring former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel — who served as a coaching and personnel consultant for the Cleveland Browns in 2024 — and the Chicago Bears hiring former Lions OC Ben Johnson.

Here’s a look at the remaining candidates for the Saints coaching job.

Completed interviews

Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi (in-person)

Rizzi often said he approached his eight-game stint as an extended interview. He finished the 2024 season with a 3-5 record.

Rizzi formally interviewed for the job on Jan. 17 and has at least two player endorsements after running back Alvin Kamara and defensive end Cameron Jordan posted their support on social media on Tuesday.

Rizzi, 54, has never been a head coach at the NFL level but had two college head coaching stints with New Haven and Rhode Island. He also had assistant head coaching titles with the Miami Dolphins and with the Saints.

Payton hired Rizzi as the special teams coordinator in 2019. The Bears and Denver Broncos could be potential landing spots for a coordinator position if he does not get the head coaching job.

Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver (virtual)

Weaver was the Saints’ first interview of the coaching search. He intervied virtually with the team on Jan. 8 but a second, in-person interview has been delayed due to weather.

Weaver, 44, spent last season in Miami after three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens as their defensive line coach/assistant head coach. Weaver is a former defensive end who played for the Ravens from 2002 to 2005 and the Houston Texans from 2006 to 2008.

Weaver interviewed with both the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Commanders during the 2024 head coaching cycle.

Bills OC Joe Brady (virtual)

Brady completed his virtual interview on Jan. 17, the same day he also did a virtual interview with Chicago.

He has ties to Louisiana, having started his NFL career as a Saints offensive assistant in 2017 before spending one year as LSU’s passing game coordinator during their 2019 national championship season.

Brady, 35, is the youngest of all the potential candidates and has three seasons at the coordinator level: with the Carolina Panthers from 2020 to 2021 and this season with the Buffalo Bills. The Bills had the No. 2 scoring offense this year, averaging 29.5 offensive points per game.

Brady cannot complete a second interview until the conclusion of the AFC Championship Game.

New York Giants OC Mike Kafka (virtual)

Kafka completed a virtual interview with the Saints on Jan. 9 and has an in-person interview scheduled this week, though it depends on New Orleans’ weather.

Kafka, 37, was a backup quarterback with several teams from 2010 to 2015 and was Patrick Mahomes‘ quarterbacks coach with the Kansas City Chiefs from 2018 to 2021.

He has been the Giants’ offensive coordinator since 2022 and held the assistant coach title this season. He previously interviewed for head coaching jobs with the Indianapolis Colts, Panthers and Arizona Cardinals in 2023 and the Seattle Seahawks and Titans in 2024.

While Kafka doesn’t have specific Saints ties, his relationship with former Saints player and coaching assistant Zach Strief, who is now with the Broncos, dates back to their college football playing days at Northwestern.

Eagles OC Kellen Moore (virtual)

Moore, 36, completed a virtual interview with the Saints on Jan. 18. He also interviewed with the Jaguars and Cowboys, where he played quarterback and was also the offensive coordinator under McCarthy from 2019 to 2022.

Moore cannot participate in a second interview until the Eagles are eliminated or during the week between the NFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl. Prior to his stint as the Eagles OC, he held the same role with the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2023 season. Philadelphia ranked No. 7 in offensive points scored per game (26.7) in 2024.

Requested interviews

Former Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy

The Saints are one of two teams known to have interest in McCarthy, who also interviewed in-person with the Bears last week before the team hired Johnson.

McCarthy’s ties to the Saints date back to the 2000 season, when former coach Jim Haslett hired him as an assistant. He was originally hired as a quarterbacks coach before Haslett decided to make him OC a week later. He was 36, the youngest offensive coordinator in the NFL at the time.

McCarthy, 61, has a long relationship with both Loomis, who was the Saints’ director of football administration at the time, and Randy Mueller, the Saints general manager from 2000 to 2001. Mueller is now helping with the Saints’ coaching search in an advisory capacity.

He was the Saints OC from 2000 to 2004. He then left to accept the same position with the San Francisco 49ers in 2005.

Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury

Since Kingsbury has not completed an initial interview yet, he will not be able to interview with the Saints until after the Super Bowl.

Kingsbury, the Commanders’ offensive coordinator, is currently preparing for the NFC Championship Game. This is Kingsbury’s first season with Washington, and he has previous head coaching experience with the Cardinals where he finished 28-37-1.

Kingsbury, 45, worked with Bears quarterback Caleb Williams at USC in 2023 and has helped develop quarterback Jayden Daniels this season.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on “The Pat McAfee Show” that he thinks Kingsbury is happy in Washington and is still making money from his previous contract in Arizona, allowing him to take his time with any potential landing spot

“If the right opportunity comes along at the right time, I’m sure he would be open and amenable to that, but he’s not going to force that,” Schefter said. “And I think he’s more focused right now on the NFC Championship Game.”