With no Drew Brees, the Saints stumbled in the regular season finale, falling to the Carolina Panthers 33-14. The loss doesn’t hurt the Black and Gold as they already have the number one seed in the NFC. But Coach Sean Payton didn’t like what he saw on Sunday
Cut 16 (12) ready to play”
Carolina led 23-0 at halftime. First time in the Payton era, the Saints were shutout in the first half at home.

But that’s all history now. The franchise can focus on hosting a playoff game on January 13th against either Philadelphia, Seattle or Dallas. New Orleans will play who ever is the lowest seed remaining after the wild card round.

There will be at least one coaching change in the NFC South. Dirk Koetter is out in Tampa Bay after three seasons and back-to-back 5-and-11 campaigns.

We are now a day away from LSU’s matchup with undefeated UCF in the Fiesta Bowl. The Tigers go into this game thin on the defensive line and at cornerback, because of injuries, suspensions and a couple of players have decided to turn pro. Coach Ed Orgeron says they need nose tackle Tyler Shelvin to step up. He’s been hindered during his brief LSU career by injuries and weight issues. Kick-off tomorrow is at noon.

Former Louisiana Tech defensive coordinator Manny Diaz is the new head coach at Miami after a wild day in south Florida. Yesterday morning, Mark Richt announced his retirement after three years as the head man at his alma mater. Diaz who was named head coach at Temple on December 13th left the Owls to replace Richt as the Hurricanes new head coach.

The Pelicans close out 2019 by hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight at 7 PM. Point guard Elfrid Payton is expected to play after missing 30 of the last 31 games, mostly due to a broken finger.