Gayle Benson does not do this. The Saints’ principal owner and CEO, 79, was set to spend Tuesday at the Greater New Orleans Quarterback Club luncheon reflecting on the franchise’s 60th season. She spent roughly eight minutes doing something else.
“We are 1-4. That is not acceptable to me, and it falls short of what our fans deserve,” Benson said. Then she handed out the work by name.
“Kellen Moore and his coaches are responsible for preparing our players to perform,” she said. And: “Mickey Loomis and our football staff are responsible for building a roster capable of sustained success.”
Compare that with last November
At 2-8 a year ago, Benson was asked about her general manager and said, “It may not be what the fans want to hear, but as far as firing Mickey Loomis, that’s ridiculous.” That was a shield. What she said Tuesday is the opposite of a shield.
She announced no firing. She did something more precise: she attached two names to two job descriptions in public, then added, “I will not make excuses, and I will not accept this level of performance as our standard,” and, “I am committed to making the decisions necessary to improve this team.”
Owners who intend to keep everybody talk about patience and how close the thing really is. Benson said the standard is not being met and that she is prepared to act on it. Read those two statements a year apart and the direction is obvious.
What she is reacting to
The Saints lost 23-13 to the Vikings on Sunday, their third straight defeat at home. Tyler Shough went 16-of-25 for 96 yards with two interceptions. New Orleans converted 2 of 10 third downs. Ninety-six passing yards raises a real question about whether the offensive plan works at all, and that question lands on a head coach.
Then there is the anniversary game, a 45-24 loss to the Falcons, which Benson brought up without being asked to. “Losing this year’s anniversary game to Atlanta truly disappointed me,” she said. An owner who planned a celebration of six decades of football and watched her team lose by 21 to its oldest rival is allowed to say so out loud, and saying so out loud is itself the news here.
The structural facts are not kind either. Loomis has been the general manager since 2002. The Saints have not reached the playoffs since the 2020 season. Moore is in year two, introduced at a press conference on Feb. 13, 2025, and he went 6-11 last season after starting 0-4. The record this year sits at 1-4. Nobody in that building can point to recent evidence and ask for more time on the strength of it.
The next two weeks
New Orleans goes to MetLife Stadium to play the Giants, who are 3-1-1, and then meets the Steelers in Paris on Oct. 25. Neither looks like relief. A team that cannot convert third downs at home does not usually find itself on the road and across an ocean.
Benson closed with the line that matters most: “Words will not restore our fans’ confidence. Our performance must do that.” She is correct, and she has now set the terms by which both of her top football employees will be measured in public. Nobody should mistake that for a vote of confidence. It is a deadline with no date printed on it.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.