Saints changed plenty about their rushing attack this offseason. Just not the running backs. (2024)

Too often last season, the New Orleans Saints designed rushing plays aimed to free up a cutback. The logic behind this was understandable. Alvin Kamara had made a career of punishing defenses on this type of run, and the running back had the craftiness and speed to get out in space.

But there’s a degree of difficulty involved on cutbacks — a level that wasn’t reached consistently enough.

“If it wasn't blocked exactly the way it needed to be blocked,” center Erik McCoy said, “it wasn’t going anywhere.”

The Saints’ run game largely went nowhere in 2023, which is why changes were made. Not only did coach Dennis Allen replace most of his offensive staff this offseason, but the Saints are also likely to have three new starters up front to coincide with the difference in scheme.

What New Orleans didn’t change was its running backs. Kamara, Jamaal Williams and Kendre Miller — the Saints’ three top rushing backs from a year ago — are all set to return next season, barring an unexpected cut in training camp. Instead of overhauling the backs, the Saints made clear they saw last year’s problems as the result of coaching and blocking.

The Saints believe they can fix both aspects with offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and the scheme he plans on installing. Kubiak’s system, which traces its roots to former coaches Mike Shanahan and Gary Kubiak (Klint’s father), is known for its wide-zone principles, athletic linemen and its simplicity masked by creativity — all characteristics that have fueled successful run games in the NFL.

Last year, five of the top six rushing attacks contained ties to the Shanahan tree and/or incorporated wide-zone principles. One of the main reasons Allen hired Kubiak was because of how tough that scheme can be to defend.

“I hate to say it this way, but we use the illusion of complexity,” said offensive line coach John Benton, using a phrase that’s become common to describe this offense. “We use the same things over and over, show a million different formations and ideas. You can’t tell if it’s run or pass.”

Benton is as well versed in this scheme as anyone. He coached under Gary Kubiak in Houston from 2006 to 2013, and then brought those concepts to Miami (2013-14), San Francisco (2017-20) and the Jets (2021-22). To be successful in this system, he says, the offensive line has to play fast. This system requires linemen to beat defenders to spots on the field rather than engaging them to just “grind it out,” he said.

There are conceptual ideas baked into this scheme that should give the Saints an advantage in the run game, particularly if New Orleans is effective at disguising plays as intended.

But execution, of course, is still required.

As optimistic as players and coaches are in the spring, the first year of installing a new offense can be a tougher road than anticipated. In Benton’s last four stints as an offensive line coach, for instance, three had a statistically worse rushing offense than the year prior — including Kubiak’s Texans and Shanahan’s 49ers. While San Francisco may arguably be the league’s best rushing attack these days, the 49ers ranked 21st in rushing in Shanahan’s first season (2017). That was a massive drop-off from the year prior — the 2016 49ers ranked fourth — albeit one that ultimately came with winning more games (six instead of two).

When Klint Kubiak took over for his dad as the Minnesota Vikings’ offensive coordinator in 2021, Minnesota fell from fifth to 17th in rushing.

Xs and Os can only take a team so far.

“Each one of these guys has an opportunity to elevate their game to the next level, willing to put in the work,” running backs coach Derek Foster said. “As I talk to each one of them, they have been very responsive, been very willing to put in the time to go get better. I think the sky’s the limit for them, and they’re going to go as far as they want to go.”

At the Saints’ voluntary offseason practice on Tuesday, New Orleans was without its top two backs in Kamara and Williams. Allen, when asked about Kamara, said the absence could “present some challenges” but added he was confident the running back was staying in shape by training on his own.

Conceptually, the differences in the Saints’ run game were apparent — even in a no-contact, spring practice setting. Pre-snap motions were emphasized, as were formations that deployed a fullback. Coaches harped on players getting to their spots and hitting their landmarks.

“Essentially, we have a better opportunity to get the ball outside,” McCoy said. “We’re getting more people on the edges, getting more outside attacking plays.

“That can be really beneficial.”