Darren Rizzi is returning to his home state of New Jersey, aiming to keep distractions to a minimum as he tries to extend the New York Giants’ losing streak. He also hopes to lead the New Orleans Saints to a late-season surge so he can remove the “interim” title from his head coaching position.
Rizzi and the Saints (4-8) will face the Giants (2-10) on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, where New York has yet to win in six games this season.
Rizzi, who grew up about 15 minutes from the stadium and was a Giants fan, recalled attending many playoff games when Bill Parcells was their coach. However, he is focusing on coaching the game rather than thinking too much about his childhood team.
The Saints still have a chance to win the weak NFC South division. They are two games behind the Falcons and Buccaneers, who are both 6-6. New Orleans has split its games with Atlanta and still has one more game against Tampa Bay.
Since taking over for Dennis Allen in November, Rizzi has a 2-1 record, with the only loss coming last weekend against the Rams. The Saints have struggled to recover from losses this season, including a seven-game losing streak.
If Rizzi can turn the team around, he may have a strong case to keep the head coaching job.
“We still got things to play for. We’ve still got opportunities ahead of us,” said quarterback Derek Carr.
On the other hand, the Giants are simply hoping to win, as they haven’t won since October 6 against Seattle. Their franchise record for consecutive losses is nine, which has happened three times, most recently in 2019.
“You can’t really do anything about it now,” said rookie Malik Nabers, who leads the Giants with 75 receptions. “The record is the record. But you can still focus on moving forward.”
