The New Orleans Saints are moving on from one of the longest-tenured members of their coaching staff.
The team announced Tuesday that offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael was one of three members of Dennis Allen's staff to be fired.
New Orleans Saints @SaintsDennis Allen announced that the team has parted ways with Offensive Coordinator Pete Carmichael, Senior Offensive Assistant Bob Bicknell, and Wide Receivers Coach Kodi Burns
Carmichael was an original member of Sean Payton's coaching staff, joining the Saints in 2006 as their quarterbacks coach before being promoted to offensive coordinator in 2009. He remained in the role when the team transitioned from Payton to head coach Dennis Allen in 2022.
"These types of decisions are never easy to come to, but are necessary as we move forward," Allen said in a statement, per ESPN's Katherine Terrell. "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."
Under Carmichael's direction, the Saints offense ranked in the top 10 in yardage for 11 straight seasons from 2009 to 2019. However, the team struggled to find consistency this season with veteran quarterback Derek Carr under center.
New Orleans ranked 14th in the NFL with 337.2 yards per game and ninth with 23.6 points per game. Carr threw for 3,878 yards, 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions as the team finished with a 9-8 record but fell short of the playoffs for the third straight year.
The Saints have enough talent on offense to keep up with the elite teams in the league, so it will be interesting to see who they tab to lead the unit back to glory in 2024.
