Report: Saints bring in Jon Gruden to help set up offense

new quarterback Derek Carr had a familiar helping hand last week, ex raiders coach Jon Gruden, as the New Orleans Saints they set up their offense during offseason training.

The Saints brought in Gruden to help Carr and the offensive coaching staff under coach Dennis Allen, NOLA.com reported Friday.

A second-round draft pick by the Raiders in 2014, Carr spent his career in the silver and black until his release after the 2022 season. He signed a four-year, $150 million deal with the Saints in March.

With the Raiders, Carr led the West Coast offense installed by Gruden during the latter’s tenure as coach from 2018 through the first five games of the 2021 season. The offense is similar to what the Saints employ.

The Saints’ version of the West Coast offense is an offshoot of the one former coach Sean Payton used during his 15 seasons as head coach in New Orleans. And it had its roots in Gruden: Payton and Gruden trained together in 1997 with the philadelphia eagleswhere Gruden was the offensive coordinator and Payton the quarterbacks coach.

“It’s a new system, new words, [but] a lot of similarities to things I grew up with and believe in,” Carr told NOLA.com. “It’s still a learning curve, but not as big as it might be in a different system or a different offense.”

The Saints signed Carr due to his familiarity with the scheme.

“He’s a great fit for us,” Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael told NOLA.com of Carr. “We’ll cater to things that he likes, as long as they fit with our staff. Most of what we’ve done [in New Orleans], he’s had some of that throughout his career. There are many similarities.”

Continuing the migration from Las Vegas, the Saints also signed two former Raiders in free agency: wide receiver Bryan Edwards and tight end Foster Moreau.

NOLA.com and Reuters contributed to this report.