As quarterback Derek Carr gets to work learning a new offense with the New Orleans Saints, he has had a bit of his old team — the Las Vegas Raiders — with him.
NOLA.com reported Friday that former Raiders coach Jon Gruden spent the week with the Saints, aiding Carr and the offensive coaching staff.
A second-round draft pick by the Raiders in 2014, Carr spent his career in the silver and black until his release following the 2022 season. He signed a four-year, $150 million contract with the Saints in March.
With the Raiders, Carr ran the West Coast offense installed by Gruden during the latter’s tenure as head coach from 2018 through the first five games of the 2021 season. The offense is similar to the one the Saints employ.
The Saints’ West Coast offense is an offshoot of the one former head coach Sean Payton used during his 15 seasons as head coach. And it had its roots with Gruden: Payton and Gruden coached together in 1997 with the Philadelphia Eagles, where Gruden was the offensive coordinator and Payton the quarterbacks coach.
And the Saints signed Carr because of his familiarity with the scheme.
“He’s a great fit for us,” Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael said of Carr, per NOLA.com. “We’ll cater to things that he likes as long as it fits with our personnel. The majority of what we’ve done (in New Orleans) he’s had some of that over his career. There’s a lot of similarities.”
To continue the migration from Las Vegas, the Saints also signed two former Raiders in free agency — wide receiver Bryan Edwards and tight end Foster Moreau.
