During a Tuesday press conference, new Saints head coach Dennis Allen talked about the “great example” set by his predecessor Sean Payton and his desire to put his own “spin” on the job.
One of the reasons why Sean Payton was so successful was the presence of Drew Brees, but Allen won’t be inheriting that kind of certainty at quarterback. The Saints opened last season with Jameis Winston as their starter and then moved on to Trevor Siemian, Taysom Hill, and Ian Book after Winston tore his ACL against the Bucs in Week Seven.
They were 5-2 after beating Tampa, but went 4-6 after he was hurt and had long stretches of offensive ineffectiveness. Hill and Book remain under contract and Allen said on Tuesday that addressing the position will be an essential piece of the offseason.
“That’s going to be one of the first things that we do, is get together as a staff, as an organization, and evaluate that position,” Allen said, via the team’s website. “And then we’ll make the best decision for this organization. We want a winner. A guy that’s got tireless work ethic, a guy that can help lead men. That’s what I see in the quarterback position. But that’s certainly something we’ve got to figure out.”
The ability to figure that out will have a big impact on the spin that Allen is able to put on the job in the years to come.