NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Saints have let go of offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael and two other offensive assistants, it was announced Tuesday.
Carmichael has served as the team's offensive coordinator for 15 years, though the plays were mostly called by former head coach Sean Payton when he ran the team.
In addition to Carmichael, the Saints parted ways with offensive assistant Bob Bicknell and receivers coach Kodi Burns.
Carmichael was retained, along with Dennis Allen, two years ago when Payton retired, largely in an effort to keep continuity with the offense. But, the offense has struggled the past three years, not in small part due to a revolving door of quarterbacks that included Jameis Winston, Andy Dalton, Taysom Hill and now Derek Carr.
The Saints offense struggled early in 2023 with Carr being repeatedly harassed by opposing pass rushes. The team won its first two games despite scoring only 16 and 20 points. In the season's third game, the one that ultimately proved the most costly loss, the Saints blew a 17-0 lead as they couldn't score again while the Packers rallied for an 18-17 victory.
The Saints were notorious for slow starts in 2023, not scoring a touchdown on an opening drive until their 16th game of the season against Tampa.
The Saints won four of their final five games, scoring 28, 24, 22, 23 and 48 points and showing an offensive spark behind Carr and young receivers Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed and tight end Juwan Johnson. But the late surge was too late to save Carmichael.
The highlight of Carmichael's tenure overseeing New Orleans' offense came in 2012, when then-head coach Sean Payton was suspended in connection with the NFL's bounty investigation into under-the-table cash rewards offered to defensive players for big and sometimes injurious hits under former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.
With Carmichael calling the plays and quarterback Drew Brees under center, the Saints ranked second in the NFL in offense that season with 410.9 yards per game.
“I would like to thank Pete, Bob and Kodi for their service to the New Orleans Saints and to this coaching staff,” said Allen. “These types of decisions are never easy to come to, but are necessary as we move forward.”
“I would especially like to thank Pete for his contributions to this staff for 18 seasons. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the job he has done and as a colleague.”
In other staff-related news, Joel Thomas has been hired by the New York Giants as the team's new running backs coach after he served the same position for the Saints the past nine seasons.
Under Thomas' tutelage, Alvin Kamara has earned five Pro Bowl selections and broke the franchise record for rushing touchdowns (54) and overall touchdowns (78). However this season under Thomas, Kamara had his second-lowest average rushing average with 3.9 yards per carry.
First-year Saints running back Jamaal Williams, who led the NFL and broke the Detroit Lions' single-season rushing touchdown record previously set by Barry Sanders with 17 last year, only rushed for 306 yards in 2023-24 compared to 1,066 last year. His only touchdown came in a controversial victory formation with just over a minute to play in the team's season finale against the Atlanta Falcons last week.