He's not retiring because the future looks good.
He's retiring because the near future looks bleak.
Needs time off? I imagine. Most HCs do after the season and maybe he's just burned out. But I think he needs to remove himself from a no-win situation.
Not bleak in the sense of the old hapless Saints. But rather in the sense of the team not being a true Playoff contender, let alone a Superbowl contender.
Why? No QB. He obviously doesn't think much of Winston and he knows that Taysom Hill is more a toy than a starting NFL QB.
There's nothing harder for a GM than to acquire a true playoff quality QB (that's why the Rams jumped all over the Stafford possibility and did so instantly before other teams had a chance to react).
The draft? Crap shoot. And this college draft? I doubt any of these QB would, in any typical year, be considered a 1st round pick. And does he want to go through the agony of that development process knowing that he has about a 1 in 10 chance of finding a winner? Even if the Saints were to cough up the draft capital to move up into the top 3 picks?
He'll be a highly paid announcer. Maybe never coach again. Great coach, though.