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In his weekly interview on WWL Radio with Mike Hoss, general manager Mickey Loomis addressed the obvious on Tuesday evening, discussing the trade of Marshon Lattimore and the termination of Dennis Allen. Apart from the statement, this is the first time we hear from Loomis since he did not talk with the media after the move. The negotiations around Lattimore, according to Loomis, have only just begun.

“I believe it’s just been the last week when there was some speculation about him being traded, given our record, you know? That’s going to spur calls and we had a number of them over the last, you know, four or five days,” Loomis said.

The trading The Saints received a 3rd round, 4th round, and 6th round selection from Washington in exchange for Lattimore and a 5th round pick from them for next year’s draft. John Ridgeway III was acquired by the Saints with the 6th round pick. Loomis sees it as a stepping stone to a higher draft position. The dead money added to the wage cap, which amounts to somewhat more than $36 million, is the consequence of moving on from him.

Acceleration from amortized bonuses and other similar factors makes things more complicated, but hey, listen, we don’t — it’s like what you said. I’ll just say this: Marshon has been an incredible asset to our team, and we’ll be able to put that $18 million toward other things over the next two years. My draught choice was spot on. He made multiple appearances in the Pro Bowl and was named defensive rookie of the year in 2017, the year we drafted him. He plays the game like a pro. I can’t speak highly enough of Marshon; he was an excellent teammate. I hope all the best for him because, despite dealing with a few injuries over the past few years, he remains one of the better corners in our league, and the Redskins are acquiring a solid player to help them in their playoff run and push here. Well, in the end, it all came down to a transaction that I felt was beneficial and worth our time, so we went ahead and executed it.

Loomis expanded upon and restated much of the points made in his statement on Dennis Allen. The piece about the players and parking was also covered by him.

“Listen, I believe that Dennis Allen is an excellent football coach, and I believe that everyone in our league who would mention him believes the same thing. Yes, he is. In this instance, I believe that the record was made by the circumstances. Unfortunately, many individuals would rather not hear it, but that is the truth. Things like, “The players aren’t parking in the right spots,” and similar nonsense ends up in our inbox. That is really absurd. You know, we’ve had work going on for the last fifteen years, so players have been parking out there. Compared to a decade ago, we now have 100 more staff. It’s ridiculous to even try to connect it with self-control. In terms of penalties, we were ranked eighth in the league before our most recent game. It’s more of a statement about discipline than about a player’s parking spot, but it brings us full circle to the obvious: we’ve suffered an unusually high number of injuries, including to our quarterback, and we haven’t been able to recover. This has put a strain on the organization and, in the end, led to a change.

Darren Rizzi was given the opportunity to address the squad by Loomis on Monday. Speaking with the team and the media about what he wanted to change was something he felt he accomplished very well, in his opinion. With any luck, this will set the tone for the second half of the season.

I think he’s a pretty clear pick because of his background and the fact that, in his position as special teams coach—which you just mentioned—he interacts with nearly every player on the squad. Our guys have heard his voice before. He’s no stranger to giving presentations in front of big audiences; he always has a bright outlook and a wonderful personality; and, you know, he was a candidate when we recruited Dennis Allen. Because he was a contender and did so well in the interviews, I don’t think anyone could have guessed.

“Rizzi has this bubbly demeanor all the time. Our team, and especially our staff and players, responded positively to his fighting mentality—which is evident even in casual chat with him—despite the fact that we were dealing with a really challenging situation.

Loomis stated that the club will not be actively seeking a new coach at this time, but will do so when the current season concludes. The fact that he has been through this previously, in 2005, when confronted with hardship, has kept him focused on what is within the building. He continued by discussing the team’s current situation and, naturally, the dissatisfaction felt by fans.

“Losing games is never enjoyable. We’re all feeling ten times worse, but you can’t just wallow in our fans’ pain; words fail me when I try to put into words how terrible it is for them. What we’re going to witness over the next eight weeks is your ability to get off the mat and show some fight. That’s true for everyone in this building.

Adding to what Dennis Allen mentioned, Loomis stated that he does not doubt the players’ and coaching staff’s efforts. But it needs to get better before it can be considered a win. In his analysis, he highlighted the team’s quarterback, two starting corners, three interior linemen, and two top receivers who have all left this season. There have been other games where the Saints have had a chance to win on the final possession but were unable to do so.

You brought up a good point: we’re not far from being 5-4 instead of 2-7, and the other team made plays, so that’s how close it is. We need to take responsibility of it. Our identity is that.

The Saints enter a new era on Wednesday, and they’ll have a crucial three months to assess their current situation, future plans, and methods of implementation.