If Saints Director of Player Personnel Ryan Pace wants to leave for a more prominent job elsewhere in the NFL, New Orleans won’t get in his way, General Manager Mickey Loomis told media Tuesday.
“He’s ready for a general manager’s job,” Loomis said.
The Saints know what Pace intends to do, but Loomis wouldn’t say. And he didn’t confirm or deny a recent NFL Network report that it was unlikely Pace would accept any interviews to leave his position with the Saints for a general manager vacancy at other NFL franchises.
“I think that’s a better question for him than for me,” said Loomis, who only remarked that other clubs in the league had inquired about Pace. “I’ll leave it up to him.”
When a reporter asked Loomis if Pace could be made available for comment, the Saints GM laughed, said, “Good question,” and moved on.
The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport not long ago reported the Chicago Bears and New York Jets had requested permission to speak with Pace about GM openings. But Rapoport followed up Monday morning by saying that Pace is most likely not going anywhere as he gets promoted within the Saints’ organization and Loomis handles more duties with the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans.
New Orleans billionaire Tom Benson owns both the Pelicans and the Saints, who were 7-9 and missed the playoffs this year. In fact, Rapoport reported, Pace shouldered more day-to-day Saints responsibilities in 2014 as Loomis did more than usual with the Pelicans.
Loomis seemed to sort of dispute that notion, explaining Pace had already been promoted during the 2013 NFL year and that his own role within the Pelicans has been “a little overblown.”
“The Saints have my full attention,” Loomis said. “They always have. And if I felt like my role with the Pelicans interfered with that, then I’d step away from the Pelicans.”
Pace is in his 13th year of employment with the Saints, and it’s his second as the player personnel director in charge of pro and college scouting. Coincidentally, he played football as a defensive end from 1995 to 1999 at Eastern Illinois, which is Saints coach Sean Payton’s alma mater.
Payton credits Pace frequently in news conferences whenever veteran free agents arrive and make a positive impact, and Loomis has said it’s inevitable other NFL teams would attempt to poach him given his value to the Saints.
Loomis reiterated that attitude on Tuesday.
“He’s talented,” said Loomis, who trotted out an oft-repeated phrase that it’s a good thing when teams are interested in one’s own front-office personnel. “I would expect to lose him at some point.”
Without referring to any specific position in the NFL, while giving a media interview at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, in January 2014, Pace indicated not just any job would tempt him to leave the Saints. He cited the close relationship between the Saints’ scouting department and coaching staff as the primary reason for that, and he said such a situation doesn’t exist just anywhere in the league.
The Dolphins last year tried to interview Pace for a general manager job but weren’t granted permission to. Pace’s contract is reportedly due to expire this year, so the Saints couldn’t block any interviews he’d want to happen.
Pace does have the option of choosing not to sit down with any teams seeking to interview him.