New Orleans Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi revealed that he clogged his locker room toilet before taking charge of his first NFL game on Sunday.
Rizzi, 54, the Saints’ special teams coordinator, received his first opportunity as a head coach on Monday after the firing of third-year coach Dennis Allen.
It turned out to be the right decision as Rizzi led the Saints to a vital 20-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
But Rizzi was clearly full of pregame nerves and shared, perhaps in too much detail, what happened in the hours before kickoff in New Orleans.
Speaking to reporters after the win over their division rivals, Rizzi said: “I’m a pretty open guy. That’s how my day started.
Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi revealed he clogged his locker room toilet on Sunday
“I go down to the stadium and walk into the head coach’s locker room, which I’ve never used before.
‘So here I am early in the morning, going to the bathroom and I clogged the toilet.
‘I’m like, this is going to be a bad day. Pun intended. I think, “This is not a good start to the day. I really don’t feel like the head coach of an NFL team right now.”
In fact, it turned out to be a perfect day for Rizzi as the Saints snapped their seven-game winless streak thanks to Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who caught three passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns.
His triumphant debut came not only against the NFC South’s top team, but also against the Saints’ oldest regional rival.
Tyrann Mathieu thwarted a promising Atlanta offense with an interception of Kirk Cousins at the New Orleans 38 with two minutes left.
Atlanta got the ball back after Alvin Kamara, who had 109 yards from scrimmage and became the Saints’ all-time rushing leader, surprisingly dropped Derek Carr’s pinpoint third pass deep down the line. left back for what could have been a decisive first attempt. .
Márquez Valdés-Scantling caught three passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns in the victory
But just as Atlanta crossed midfield, Chase Young’s sack and Cousins’ strip led to a 19-yard loss to the Atlanta 32-yard line with 34 seconds left.
Although the Falcons recovered, the play proved pivotal.
The Falcons were forced to use their final timeout and had to make a hasty decision two plays later on whether they would attempt a 60-yard field goal or keep the offense on the field after a completion gave them fourth-and-four on New Orleans. 43 with 18 seconds left and the stopwatch running.
Atlanta attempted a quick pass to Ray-Ray McCloud III, who was tackled within yards of the first down by Ugo Amadi as time expired.