Darren Rizzi hasn’t wasted much time making a mark in six days as New Orleans Saints head coach.
Changes to the training regime, the locker room and a change to the NFL Sunday experience – winning.
“I’m a pretty open guy, Rizzi told a press conference hanging on his every word.
“This is how my day started, I get down to the Superdome, I go in the head coach’s locker room, which I’ve never used before.
“Here I am, early in the morning, I go to the bathroom. This is how my day started. I clogged the toilet.
“I’m like, ‘This is gonna be a crappy day.’ Pun intended!
“I’m like, ‘Okay, this is not really a great start to the day. Here we go.’
“And so, not really feeling like the head coach of an NFL team right now. I’m like, ‘Really? This is really how we’re gonna start my day?’”
It’s been a symbol of Rizzi’s early rein, which is not even a week old – and also featured him losing his balance and feeling his left arm after celebrations started early from the sideline.
“I yelled at Payton Turner with 30 seconds left because he’s celebrating before the game’s over.
“Screaming at him, he’s spraying water and I ripped his a–, quite frankly.
“When the game was over, he wanted to get me back, so he came up to me and I wasn’t looking and he jacked me up from the back. I have a history of stingers, so my left arm went completely numb.
“Literally went completely numb … I’m fine.”
The atmosphere has changed, the players have responded.
They have responded to Rizzi.
And there is more than a hint of Detroit Lions Dan Campbell in how Rizzi has gone about his business since stepping up from special teams coordinator to be interim head coach.
It wasn’t just fun and games for the Saints. Rizzi has not had much time to implement the real Xs and Os but he’s shifted the mood, shaken the city out of it’s slumber.
The Saints mean everything to New Orleans, but the team haven’t given them much back. Rizzi has changed that in a heartbeat.
“Derek made a nice little speech, I got a game ball, I gave a game ball to AK.
“AK’s game ball is an all-time game ball. My game ball was a first-time game ball.
“Everybody from day one bought in, and so the whole building is getting the game ball.”
A rollercoaster win over the Falcons featured almost everything – missed field goals, big plays, dropped passes and a game winning interception.
But in the end it was a win. A win that ends a run of seven straight defeats for the Saints.
Energy was preached throughout the week. It was evident at the training facility, it was evident in the city and the tailgates leading up to kickoff, and most importantly it was evident in the stadium.
Starting with a high octane introduction that featured a hero’s welcome for Alvin Kamara and finished with Tyran Mathieu’s interception that nearly took the roof off the almost 50-year Superdome.
New Orleans played well from the start, set the tone and controlled long stretches of the game – and that’s credit to Rizzi
The 54-year-old knows there is plenty to do, and plenty went the Saints way on Sunday afternoon – including three missed Falcons field goals. The job has just begun.
“There was moments today where I’m almost forgetting, I’m just going through my routine and I’m kind of forgetting that I’m the head coach,” Rizzi said.
“There’s plenty of stuff to get corrected. But it is certainly a little surreal to see how happy the players were in the locker room. The celebration was awesome.”
As it stands he is in control to the end of the season but to a man the players have sung his praises, the media have revelled in his company and the fans are posting to X: ‘That’s my coach.’
Next up is Cleveland for Saints players in the locker room after the game looked anything but a team with a losing record.
2-7 has become 3-7 and a schedule that doesn’t look too demanding, features one more divisional gam now looks like a galvanising factor.
The blockage has been cleared, and the Saints are marching again.
talkSPORT are in New Orleans as part of a visit organized by New Orleans & Company and the Super Bowl LIX Host Committee
New Orleans is hosting the Super Bowl for a record-equalling 11th time on February 9, 2025
