Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi overshares after first win: ‘I clogged the toilet’

“I’m a pretty open guy,” said New Orleans Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi following the team’s 20-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

He was not kidding.

Rizzi took over as interim coach this week after New Orleans fired previous head coach Dennis Allen following a 2-7 start to the season. The team’s assistant head coach & special teams coordinator since 2022, Rizzi brought a lot of familiarity with him in the new role. One thing he wasn’t familiar with was the head coach’s locker room.

He apparently made himself very familiar with the facilities before Sunday’s game.

“This is how my day started,” Rizzi told reporters after the win. “I get down to the Superdome. I go in the head coach’s locker room, which I’ve never used before. So here I am, early in the morning, I go to the bathroom. This is how my day started. I clogged the toilet. I’m like, ‘This is gonna be a crappy day.’ Pun intended!

“I’m like, ‘Okay, this is not really a great start to the day. Here we go.’ And so, not really feeling like the head coach of an NFL team right now. I’m like, ‘Really? This is really how we’re gonna start my day?'”

How come we never heard about Bill Belichick’s pre-game bowel movements? Seems like we’ve been missing out.

After the Saints iced the victory, Rizzi appeared to lose his balance and the ability to walk following an interaction with Saints DE Payton Turner, sparking concern that he was injured.

Afterward, Rizzi explained that after Turner “jacked him in the back,” his arm went numb due to a history of “stingers.”

“I was grabbing him like, ‘Payton, are you f’ing kidding me?'” said Rizzi.

In the end, all was well for Rizzi and the Saints. They got a big win and now the interim head coach knows what kind of septic system he’s dealing with in his new locker room.

[Fletcher Mackel]