The Saints have dismissed run game coordinator T.J. Paganetti. The move puts renewed focus on Kellen Moore’s plan, the remaining staff and a rushing attack that needs a dependable foundation.

Coming off the bye, the #Saints made a significant change, moving on from run game coordinator T. J. Paganetti, sources say. Run-game issues have plagued the team this year. pic.twitter.com/yBPAkbzG9c

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 2, 2026

NEW ORLEANS — The Saints have changed the name attached to their running game. Now Kellen Moore has to change the results.

New Orleans fired offensive run game coordinator T.J. Paganetti, a move Moore confirmed Monday, according to NFL.com’s November 2 news roundup. The decision comes with the Saints at 2–5 and returning from their bye, searching for a dependable ground attack.

The numbers explain the urgency: 86 rushing yards per game, 28th in the NFL, and 3.52 yards per attempt, 30th, according to the league’s report. Those are difficult conditions for building an offense that can stay ahead of the chains and finish drives.

Removing Paganetti is a consequential decision. Whether it becomes a meaningful football correction depends on what follows: clearer assignments, better blocking, more workable calls and a running game that can survive when its first answer fails.

The Paris performance made the problem impossible to ignore

The Saints’ final game before the break produced 18 rushing yards in a 16–10 loss to Pittsburgh. One bad afternoon can happen. New Orleans’ larger problem is how far its production has swung from week to week.

The team’s official bye-week review documented this seven-game rushing record:

Opponent	Rushing yards
Detroit	91
Baltimore	65
Las Vegas	148
Atlanta	50
Minnesota	55
New York Giants	175
Pittsburgh	18

The Raiders and Giants games account for roughly 54 percent of the Saints’ 602 rushing yards. Across the other five games, New Orleans averaged 55.8. Those calculations, based on the team’s published totals, show why an occasional productive afternoon has not established a trustworthy identity.

The staff needs a foundation it can return to. A rushing offense cannot depend on finding the right opponent or waiting for the next favorable game script.

Paganetti brought a credible background

Paganetti joined Moore’s first Saints staff in 2025 after working alongside him in Philadelphia. The Saints’ coaching biography lists his 2024 Eagles role as run game specialist and assistant offensive line coach. That Philadelphia team rushed for a franchise-record 3,048 yards and won the Super Bowl.

That background explains the appeal of the hire. It does not mean one assistant created Philadelphia’s success, or that the same production could be carried into a different roster simply by importing a coach.

Personnel, technique, blocking combinations, quarterback influence and weekly design all interact. A successful résumé provides evidence of experience. The current team still has to demonstrate that the teaching and planning fit its players.

New Orleans has now decided to proceed without Paganetti. That judgment does not establish that every failed run belonged to him.

Moore already described this as a shared operation

Before the firing, Moore publicly explained that Paganetti and offensive line coach Brendan Nugent handled substantial preparation before Moore became involved. He described the process this way: It’s a collaborative opportunity for all of us.

Those comments, published in the Saints’ bye-week review, matter when assigning responsibility. Moore’s own explanation placed several coaches inside the planning process.

The remaining offensive staff includes coordinator Doug Nussmeier, Nugent and associate head coach/running backs coach Joel Thomas, according to the team’s coaching directory. Removing a contributor leaves questions about how preparation, teaching and final decisions will be distributed.

The useful question for Moore is specific: what will the offense do differently, and why should those changes suit the available players better? A clearer division of responsibility could help. So could narrowing the menu to concepts the line and backs execute well. Neither improvement can be assumed from the personnel move alone.

Injuries belong in the explanation

Any fair assessment also has to acknowledge the changing personnel. New Orleans placed left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. on injured reserve September 23 and placed running back Travis Etienne Jr. on injured reserve October 1.

Disruption at those positions complicates continuity. It also makes the staff’s ability to adapt more important. Coaches must build around the group available that week, including its limitations.

The front office has a stake in that evaluation, too. Mickey Loomis’ roster construction and depth determine the alternatives when starters are unavailable. A coaching change does not settle whether the team supplied enough dependable options, just as an injury list does not settle whether those options were used effectively.

What an actual correction should look like

The first sign should be fewer wasted runs. A modest gain that creates a manageable second down has value. A missed assignment that puts the offense behind schedule changes the next call and gives the defense more freedom.

Next, the line and backs need to make the same decisions together. If a blocking combination creates one path and the runner anticipates another, the play can break down even when individual effort is strong. The teaching has to produce shared answers.

Moore should also be judged on how he responds when a defense takes away the preferred concept. That might require a formation adjustment, motion, a different blocking approach or an early-down pass. The answer should follow what the defense presents and what the Saints can execute.

Simply demanding more rushing attempts misses the point. Repeating an unsuccessful call does not demonstrate commitment. A useful running game needs enough efficiency to justify returning to it.

The evaluation should therefore go beyond the final yardage total: early-down gains, negative plays, short-yardage execution and consistency across several possessions. An isolated long run can improve a box score without resolving the underlying problem.

Cleveland provides the first test

The Saints host the Browns on Sunday, November 8, at noon Central in the Caesars Superdome, according to the official schedule. It is the first opportunity to see how the offense operates after this change.

One afternoon will not answer every question. It can show whether the plan is coherent, whether the team creates usable running lanes and whether the staff adjusts before stalled possessions pile up.

Fans should watch what happens after an unsuccessful series. Does New Orleans find a better answer? Do the same errors return? Does the offense give itself realistic third downs?

Those observations will tell us more than the announcement itself.

A dismissal raises the standard for everyone who remains

Calling Paganetti a scapegoat as a settled fact would claim knowledge of an internal decision the public does not have. Treating his exit as a completed repair would be equally premature.

The Saints have taken action. Moore and the remaining staff now have to show that their diagnosis was sound and their solution works.

That is the accountability test in New Orleans. The next convincing answer has to appear on the field.

WHO DAT NATION, KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING.
Subscribe to The Sports Coma with Big Q for Saints news, analysis and community discussion.
More coverage: The Who Dat Daily · Shows and support
The Sports Coma is part of TSC Media.