It was a rollercoaster for the New Orleans Saints in Week 14. Is anyone surprised if they've watched their games this year? Doubtful. Regardless, they got their third win in four games with Darren Rizzi as their head coach.
It did not come without some bumps from Rizzi and his team, though. In the first half, Rizzi lost his temper after punter Matthew Hayball did not execute a punt correctly.
Rizzi's outburst
The Saints interim HC went a bit viral on social media for fiery interaction with his punter.
Of course, Rizzi's roots are on special teams. He wants attention to detail. That did not happen on this particular play, and the Giants returned the botched punt for a touchdown. Luckily, it came back due to a penalty on New York.
Should Rizzi have kept his cool a bit better? That's certainly a fair argument because explosions like this do not always breed results. That being said, it did in this instance from Hayball.
In the second half, he executed much better on his punts, according to Rizzi. The coach said that Hayball's last two punts were what they were trying to do all day. Those looked different than that early one, which led to the frustration from the coach.
Not to mention, the Saints won the game on a play by their special teams unit. New Orleans' unit flipped Rizzi's initial disappointment into pure bliss by the end of the fourth quarter.
You don't think they saw that interaction between Hayball and Rizzi, and they did not want to avoid that? Bryan Bresee celebrated with his coach, following his block to seal the victory for the Saints.
Plus, Rizzi has always been extremely supportive on the sideline when his special teams unit makes a big play. He will show plenty of positive emotion as well, so no one should box him into a "harsh, reactionary" type of category when it comes to coaching philosophy.
Since Rizzi was hired as the interim HC for the Saints, kickers are 2-8 on field goal attempts against his team. That's no coincidence. That's Rizzi ball.
