It's very likely New Orleans Saints coach Dennis Allen has his job riding on who the team’s next offensive coordinator will be. With that, there are plenty of candidates, but on the Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 206), we have narrowed the top three choices to Ronald Curry, Jon Gruden and Klint Kubiak. What are the plusses and minuses for each?

And what about the choices for head coach in Atlanta in Carolina? Are Raheem Morris and Dave Canales going to keep Saints fans up at night, or are they in line with some of the teams’ past hires? What’s up in the NFC South?
Lastly, what do we think about Sunday’s NFC and AFC championship games? Are the lines spot on, or do we expect an upset? Dat host Jim Derry and The Athletic's Larry Holder will talk about it all on this jam-packed episode.

Saints' OC search, new NFC South coaches, NFC, AFC title game picks with Larry Holder on Ep. 206

In Jeff Duncan’s weekend column, he says the New Orleans Saints “are all in” on quarterback Derek Carr, and they plan to restructure the contract with their “ride or die” to make it so they are married to him throughout at least the 2025 season. Whether you like it or not, there are more good reasons to do this than not.

We go through the reasons with The Athletic’s Larry Holder on Friday’s the Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 207), and we discuss whether this is one of the reasons why the Saints have waited to hire a new offensive coordinator. Will it be Klint Kubiak or Brian Griese? Staying inside the building with Ronald Curry?

And what about Super Bowl LVIII? Is there an early read on the game? How have the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers made it? Certainly not by coaching like it’s a game of “Madden NFL” like Dan Campbell did last week in the NFC championship game. Are we giving up on Lamar Jackson’s chances to make a Super Bowl?

Super Bowl 58 early thoughts; Saints committing to Derek Carr? Larry Holder joins Ep. 207

It's a brand new season for the Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 209), and it goes way beyond that. Going forward, the show will encompass all the shows from Bet.NOLA.com, as well as take on a slightly different look and feel. While Jim Derry still will focus on the New Orleans Saints, being a fulltime podcast host means he will be able to book a more wide variety of top-notch guests from the local media and on the national scene.

That starts with the Season 4 premiere, as WWL Radio’s Mike Detillier joins to discuss the state of the Saints just 8 weeks prior to the 2024 NFL Draft. Will Mickey Loomis, Jeff Ireland and the team make cap magic once again? What are priorities in the draft? Will Klint Kubiak make a difference as offensive coordinator? Where will Jayden Daniels go?

Jim also shares his thoughts in his monologue and brings back an old favorite with the “Extra Point” to close it out, as he looks back to rookie Chris Paul and the New Orleans / Oklahoma City Hornets and something that had never been done in NBA history before or since back on March 1, 2006.

Mike Detillier talks Saints' needs, cap space on 'new' Dattitude, Ep. 209, Season 4 premiere

Uh oh. Reading through the team leaves of New Orleans Saints coach Dennis Allen says to Who Dats the offensive line might be an even bigger concern than originally thought. And that ain't good.

Jim Derry dissects Allen's press conference from the NFL owners meetings on Dattitude (Ep. 220) live at 2:30 p.m. on these social media channels and later on demand, as we go through some of the key moments, which also include Derek Carr and Klint Kubiak, veteran leadership and free agency and the backup QB situation. Also, the Fantasy Roundup and Wednesday's Extra Point focuses on MLB's Opening Day.

Chapters
0:00 Introduction 
6:50 New Orleans Pelicans
8:45 Derry’s Dime
13:10 Ryan Ramczyk update
22:15 Is Dennis Allen turning a corner?
24:05 Derek and David Carr talk Kubiaks
29:10 Saints backup QB
32:00 Fantasy Roundup
43:10 Extra Point
46:15 Final thoughts

Ryan Ramczyk injury big deal for Saints, Dennis Allen speaks and the Fantasy Roundup on Ep. 220

It has been a week many people in Pearl River won't soon forget. Hours before seniors from the school were graduating and the baseball team was pulling off an improbable comeback to advance to the semifinals, a senior classmate was killed in a car accident.

How has the team dealt with the tragedy, and can this group of young men continue to uplift a community in their first trip to Sulphur for the state tournament? Coach Buddy Turnage joins Jim Derry on Wednesday’s Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 234) presented by Evangeline Securities, to talk about the journey, as well as his own long two-decade trip to this point in his life.

Jim also shares his thoughts on Andrus Peat leaving the team to go to the Las Vegas Raiders and what would be the ideal schedule for the New Orleans Saints. And in the 'Extra Point,' he looks back 29 years to the great May 8 flood that dealt the city another blow.

Pearl River baseball's David vs. Goliath story; Saints lose Peat and schedule talk on Ep. 236

Dak Prescott. Jalen Hurts. Kirk Cousins. Patrick Mahomes. These are the quarterbacks the New Orleans Saints will have to face in succession over a four-game stretch early in the season. Can they navigate through that and find a way to a successful start?

This is the No. 1 question posed by host Jim Derry to Times-Picayune and The Advocate sports columnist Rod Walker on a special, schedule-release Thursday edition of the Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 240) presented by Evangeline Securities. They also will talk about best- and worst-case scenarios, what the Saints need to do to make this season better than the past two and make their “far too early” predictions for 2024.

And in the ‘Extra Point,’ Jim goes back 39 years to a day when the future of the team was very much on the brink of whether they would remain in New Orleans and what Gov. Edwin Edwards did to step in and help save the efforts for Tom Benson to buy the Saints.

Will Saints be able to navigate tough early schedule? Rod Walker answers on Ep. 240

On Tuesday, New Orleans Saints coach Dennis Allen said All-Pro cornerback Marshon Lattimore will be back in 2024. Not saying we’re not sure, but is it a big deal we have heard nothing from Lattimore’s camp? What about how the team is lining up on the offensive line in OTAs, and what should we expect from Alvin Kamara, who also is a no show this week.

Host Jim Derry will ask WWL-TV sports director Doug Mouton on Wednesday’s Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 242) presented by Evangeline Securities. Doug also will share his thoughts on what Klint Kubiak is doing thus far and a big difference we might see in the role of Taysom Hill, as well as his viewpoint of the schedule and prediction for 2024.

They also talked about LSU baseball live as they were whooping up on Kentucky in the SEC Baseball Tournament. On the 'Extra Point,' Jim thinks the “double first base” the SEC is experimenting with could be done quite differently. Is it safety or silly?

Marshon Lattimore, Saints OTA and sked talk, LSU baseball - Doug Mouton on Ep. 242

We have spent most of the late spring and early summer talking about the potential for the New Orleans Saints’ new offense under Klint Kubiak. But what about Dennis Allen’s defense? They were not good last season against the run and had virtually no pass rush. Will they be better?

Can they find depth on the defensive line, and is this the last year for Hall-of-Famer to be defensive end Cameron Jordan? Jim Derry talks to his old friend, Larry Holder of The Athletic, on Friday’s Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 248) presented by Evangeline Securities. They also offer their early top surprise picks in the NFL and potential disappointments, as well as Jim’s and Larry’s Super Bowl predictions (which they reserve the right to change before September).

Lastly in the ‘Extra Point,’ Jim looks back 33 years to when LSU baseball started its run in becoming the premier program in the country and Skip Bertman became a legend, as they won their first national championship over Wichita State.

Saints D-line issues, finding wins early and NFL 2024 predictions with Larry Holder on Ep. 248

Just a few days of mandatory minicamp, and then Dennis Allen and the New Orleans Saints will take their final break before the 2024 season begins in earnest with training camp in late July. There certainly are more questions than answers, as Klint Kubiak installs a new offense, and we still don’t know three of the five pieces on the line outside of Erik McCoy at center and Cesar Ruiz at right guard.

And what about the aging defensive line? Can the linebackers step up, and could Willie Gay be a diamond in the rough? Is the defensive backfield the strength of the team? All questions Jim Derry poses to WWL Radio Saints/NFL analyst Mike Detillier on Monday’s Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 249) presented by Evangeline Securities.

And Jim finishes the show with a booming ‘Extra Point,’ as he goes back 28 years to the greatest home run in LSU history – a game-winning blast by Warren Morris in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, a runner on third base and the Tigers trailing the mighty Miami Hurricanes by one run. It was Morris’ only home run in 1996, and really, the only one he needed to hit.

State of the Saints - an early 2024 outlook with Mike Detillier on Ep. 249

All seemed to be going swimmingly with the New Orleans Saints, as they entered the final day of minicamp and were set to head off into vacation relatively problem free. Then Alvin Kamara dropped a bombshell and abruptly left the team in an apparent contract dispute.

What does this mean for the team, and can they get the problem ironed out before the start of training camp in about 5 weeks? Is it a big deal Coach Dennis Allen says he hasn’t talked to Kamara? And what about tight end Juwan Johnson needing foot surgery? How long will that linger?

We’ll try to answer those questions, as host Jim Derry brings in Saints beat reporter Luke Johnson on Friday’s Dattitude Podcast (Ep. 251) presented by Evangeline Securities. And in the ‘Extra Point,’ Jim celebrates Fathers Day by remembering his own dad and reading notes from his 12- and 8-year-old daughters.

Alvin Kamara leaves camp, Juwan Johnson injured - Luke Johnson discusses it on Ep. 251

Dattitude premiered in September 2021 to focus on what's important to sports fans in south Louisiana. While we focus on the Saints, we also talk plenty about the Pelicans, LSU, Tulane, Prep, sports betting, fantasy sports and all the big-time sports events happening in and around New Orleans. Host Jim Derry brings more than 33 years of experience covering sports in the region, and he'll "always tell you the way it is ... or at least the way he THINKS it is."

New tracks tagged #dennis allen