The New Orleans Saints have zeroed in on their new offensive coordinator. They're expected to add San Francisco 49ers offensive passing game specialist Klint Kubiak as their new offensive coordinator. 

Kubiak comes from a much different offensive system than what the Saints ran a season ago. The 49ers use a much heavier dosage of motion within their play-calling and scheme touches for their top playmakers, out of the backfield and downfield. 

According to Nick Underhill, the 49ers ran 753 plays with motion this season. The Saints ran just 366 plays with motion. 

49ers plays with motion this season: 753

Saints: 366

— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) February 2, 2024

For example, this blurb comes from an article from the end of November 2023. 

One major oddity in their offense is their (Saints) lack of play action and motion usage. The Saints are last in play action percentage and 31st in percentage of plays in motion before/at snap. — A to Z Sports New Orleans

Last year's Saints offense refused to use motion like some of their counterparts around the NFL that saw more consistent success and explosiveness. It was a flaw that was fixable, but Pete Carmichael Jr. did not make necessary adjustments in that area. 

The most frustrating part? New Orleans was efficient when they used motion. The Saints recorded .14 EPA/dropback in the pass game when using motion. That was 4th-best in the NFL. 

It worked but Carmichael and co. refused to use it consistently throughout games. New Orleans totaled just 157 drop backs with motion. That ranked 32nd (last) in football. 

The play-calling was bland, especially in the most important moments. That costed the Saints in winnable games. The lack of creativity frustrated fans often. Kubiak's offense will assuredly use motion much more often. That bodes well for the long-term effectiveness of New Orleans' offense.

Using deception should be a major part of every offense in 2024. Consider the weapons that the Saints possess on that side of the ball as well. 

The speed of Rashid Shaheed and elusiveness of Chris Olave can create headaches for defenses even more often if they disguise targets for them using motion. Adding Kubiak makes that potential outcome more likely. 

Additionally, consider Taysom Hill. Moving him around in unique ways will only allow him to make more explosive plays for New Orleans. Alvin Kamara and Kendre Miller have proven that they can break a game open, too, so making defenses second-guess themselves constantly will make them even more valuable. 

Overall, the decision to hire Kubiak is one with a massive upside at the forefront. He will need to prove himself as a play-caller, but his recent experience with Kyle Shanahan could be an absolute game changer for the black and gold. 

Saints picking at legendary coaching tree for offensive coordinator hire

New Orleans is locking in on its guy.