Good morning, and welcome to the January 20 edition of the Saints Insider newsletter. Yes, there's a reason that date may be ringing a very unfortunate bell in your brain. Five years ago today... Yeah, that play. The one where the referee chose to keep his flag in his pocket, and effectively cost the Saints their best chance at a second Super Bowl appearance. Today is the five-year anniversary of the NOLA No-Call. Maybe you've buried that play in the ol' memory hole, but it is history nonetheless. And we've got a couple pieces up over at NOLA.com looking back at the play in retrospect. I'm going to recommend this one from columnist Rod Walker, who found Tommylee Lewis (the intended receiver on the play) to talk about how that one moment in time changed things forever. Something old? Something new?The Saints Insider crew got together for a roundtable discussion focused on the Saints offense, particularly what direction we think it should take under a new offensive coordinator. We didn't agree on everything, but it was a lively conversation nonetheless. One of the more fun questions: What's your pitch to a prospective hire? Do y'all think the Saints have a solid offensive foundation to build upon? We'd be interested in hearing your answers. Saints assistant drawing interestMaybe you don't know a lot about Michael Hodges, who has largely been toiling in the shadows as the Saints linebackers coach the last several years. But if you're not familiar with him, now is probably the time. The New England Patriots requested permission to interview Hodges for their vacant defensive coordinator position — which is probably an overdue opportunity for him. This Saints Insider's take: Hodges is an energetic young coach with a sharp football mind, and his loss would be a blow to the Saints. It'll be interesting to see if the Saints can encourage him to stick around with an adjustment in his title. While y'all are at it, make sure you go check out our Youtube page, where you can watch the latest edition of the Saints Insider podcast — which is also available on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. The crew chatted about the potential offensive coordinator hire and the fallout from one of the worst missed calls in league history. Have a great weekend, Luke Johnson |