No one needs Kellen Moore and the New Orleans Saints to rally this season more than Mickey Loomis.

As the Saints’ losses have mounted, so, too, has the pressure on the Saints’ longtime general manager. He’s become a lightning rod of fan frustration, and after gaining a temporary restraining order from Tyler Shough’s emergence last season, he’s once again centered squarely in their crosshairs.

And right now, things are not looking good.

The Saints are 1-4 as they prepare for an important two-game road trip to New York and Paris. They are coming off embarrassing home losses to the Falcons and Vikings and now find themselves in a rut deeper than a New Orleans sinkhole.

Only 14 teams in the last 50 years have made the playoffs after starting 1-4. That gives the Saints a 5% chance of making the playoffs.

The good news is the Saints have been here before. They have started 1-4 an incredible 13 times in club history.

The bad news is they’ve failed to make the playoffs in each of those prior instances.

With an extra 17th game, it’s easier to recover now, but history and the odds are working against them.

And if Moore fails, so does Loomis. Their fates are inextricably entwined.

Moore, after all, was his guy. He was his handpicked coach, the guy he likened to Sean Payton, the one he turned to after the D.A. debacle. In January 2025 when Loomis was asked why Saints fans should have confidence in the team to pick the next coach, he confidently said, “Because we’ve done it before.”

And while the selection of Sean Payton was undoubtedly the best move Loomis ever made, it’s start to look less the rule and more like the exception.

And the more Moore’s team struggles on the field, the more fans distrust his ability to lead the Saints out of the abyss.

Loomis received a mulligan after Allen was dismissed in 2024. Even in an organization as insular and hidebound as the Saints, it would be a surprise if he were given the opportunity to hire a third head coach. That would be harder to sell to Saints fans than those ridiculous $16 Michelob Ultras.

Loomis is embedded into the organizational hierarchy deeper than any other GM in the league. He’s such an established member of the inner circle he’s one of the executors of the Benson estate.

Only a year ago, Saints owner Gayle Benson dismissed questions about Loomis’ job security, saying calls to fire him were “ridiculous.”

“(He) does a great job,” Benson said. “Mickey’s been one of the top NFL general managers. He’s a great guy.”

Nevertheless, it’s becoming more and more difficult to, ahem, look beyond the results.

The Saints have missed the playoffs for five consecutive years and will need an improbable to turnaround this year to avoid making it six straight. That would make it the longest playoff drought since 1993-1999 when the Saints missed the postseason for seven consecutive seasons. That skid led to a complete housecleaning of the front office and coaching staff by owner Tom Benson.

Will Benson be willing to do the same?

She seemed to say as much earlier this week.

“I am committed to making the decisions necessary to improve this team,” Benson said at the Greater New Orleans Quarterback Club.

Benson added, “As the owner, the responsibility does start with me. I will not make excuses, and I will not accept this level of performance as our standard.”

Unfortunately, this kind of season has been the standard for the Saints under Loomis without Sean Payton and Drew Brees.

In his eight-plus seasons as GM before and after the Payton-Brees era, his Saints teams are a combined 56-71 for a 44.0 winning percentage. In that span, they have never made the playoffs. This season would make it 0 for 9.

In that time, Loomis has tried several things to right the ship. He’s changed head coaches, signed and drafted different franchise quarterbacks and hired former GMs like Dave Ziegler, Randy Mueller and Thomas Dimitroff as sounding boards and outside voices.

So far, none of it has worked well enough to get the Saints back on track.

The Saints pride themselves on their continuity. They like to compare themselves to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the league’s model for small-market success and stability. The Steelers have employed only four head coaches and general manager in the last half century.

The Carolina Panthers, meanwhile, have run through four head coaches and three general managers in the eight-plus seasons since owner David Tepper took control. In that span, they have one division title and playoff appearance to show for it, and that was last season when they “won” the woeful NFC South at 8-9.

If the Saints were enjoying similar success to the Steelers, it would be easier to accept the comparisons. In the 24 seasons since 2002, the Steelers have suffered just one losing season, have made the playoffs 16 times and won two Super Bowls.

The Saints, meanwhile, have failed to make the playoffs and have suffered losing seasons in three of the last four years while competing in the worst division in football. They, along with the Colts, Falcons and Jets, are one of four teams to not make the playoffs since 2020.

While the comparisons to Pittsburgh might be valid off the field, the ones to the Steelers on the field look more and more farcical every day.

Loomis has maintained his characteristically low profile throughout the start of the season, but he is scheduled to speak to reporters next week in Paris.

Benson was spot on when she said, “There’s a great deal of football ahead of us, but our response must show up on the field. Words will not restore our fans’ confidence. Our performance must do that.”

Moore and the Saints still have time to turn things around. It’s only Week 6, and the NFC South is as mediocre as ever. It’s too early to bury the Saints.

But the hole will only get deeper and the odds longer if they lose to the Giants Sunday in New York.

And if that happens, that post-game flight to Paris will be a long one. And the leash on Moore and Loomis will only get shorter.