Gayle Benson: Recent Saints Performance Level Unacceptable

The Falcons routed the Saints in a national TV spot, and the Vikings’ top-tier defense held Tyler Shough to 96 passing yards in Week 5. Owner Gayle Benson addressed the team’s struggles today.

“I will not make excuses, and I will not accept this level of performance as our standard,” Benson said, via NewOrleans.football’s Nick Underhill. “I am committed to making the decisions necessary to improve this team. Everyone in this organization understands the urgency. We must prepare better, execute consistently and correct the mistakes that are costing us games.”

The Saints carried some optimism coming into the season based on Shough’s second-half performance as a rookie. The Offensive Rookie of the Year runner-up (despite making just nine starts last season) helped the Saints to a 4-1 finish. They also swept the NFC South champion Panthers. But New Orleans is struggling this season. The Saints rank 31st in scoring defense, representing the team’s top issue. Shough is 15th in QBR, with the team’s offense 16th in scoring after five games.

New Orleans did not make notable coaching changes this offseason, and Mickey Loomis stands as the second-longest-tenured pure GM in NFL history. Only Cowboys Hall of Famer Tex Schramm has Loomis’ 25-season tenure beat among GM-only figures, and Loomis’ seat remained relatively cool in 2024 despite ownership canning HC Dennis Allen in-season. Loomis was believed to be against that move, but he led the search that produced Kellen Moore following Super Bowl LIX. Carrying some of the best job security among any NFL presence this century, the GM was not believed to be on a hot seat in 2025 after the Saints’ 1-8 start, either.

Based on performance and investment level, Loomis would figure to be on a hotter seat than Moore. But Benson has shown tremendous loyalty to the Super Bowl-winning GM. Loomis was in place when the team hired Sean Payton in 2006, and the Payton-Drew Brees years brought (by far) the best stretch in franchise history.

Loomis and Payton assembled the Saints’ Super Bowl XLIV-winning roster, and assistant GM Jeff Ireland played a key role in the franchise’s recovery — one an impact 2017 draft accelerated. As a string of agonizing playoff losses defined Brees’ final seasons, the Saints maintained their status as one of the NFL’s best teams during that run. But they have not made the playoffs since Brees’ 2021 retirement. They have finished above .500 once since Payton’s 2022 exit.

It will certainly be interesting to see if Benson truly turns up the heat on Loomis, who has been the team’s GM since May 2002. Loomis, 69, has been with the Saints since 2000.

The Saints gave Allen only three seasons, though they had more time to evaluate him due to his multiple stints serving under Payton, but it would still surprise to see Moore let go after two years. But Benson’s comments are notable given the team’s struggles to open the season. The statuses of Loomis and Moore will be worth monitoring moving forward as a result.