Darren Rizzi is officially undefeated as a head coach in the NFL, but it appears to have come at a cost.
The New Orleans Saints beat the division rival Atlanta Falcons on Sunday by a final score of 20-17. It marked New Orleans’ first game led by Rizzi, their special teams coordinator who ascended to interim coach after the Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen several days prior.
As the clock hit triple zeroes, Rizzi got so hyped and started celebrating with his players, one of whom (defensive end Payton Turner) gave him a push in the back. The FOX broadcast then cut away from the scene, and when they cut back to Rizzi, he looked to be having a hard time staying on his feet after suffering an apparent injury.
Here is the full video.
full clip:
payton turner pushes darren rizzi in the back, rizzi seems to have a hard time standing afterwards. they talk and then hug it out pic.twitter.com/HOfNXUpF1a
— Trace (@yfntrace) November 10, 2024
Rest assured though, Rizzi was just fine. He told reporters afterwards that he just suffered a stinger when Turner pushed him, causing his arm to briefly go numb.
Darren Rizzi on his post game stumble on the field: I'm fine. I'm fine.
It was a recurring stinger. He lost his balance because his arm went numb. He was joking with Payton Turner, it was all positive. pic.twitter.com/BblkLDB4XR
— Doug Mouton (@DMoutonWWL) November 10, 2024
Rizzi was definitely locked in all game and was already going viral for some of his intense reactions to the game action.
Darren Rizzi losing his mind on the sideline pic.twitter.com/KJT9og4VjS
— Boot Krewe Media (@BootKreweMedia) November 10, 2024
Darren Rizzi is a whole mood #Saints | #ATLvsNO pic.twitter.com/ITBkzirBEr
— Dylan Hebert (@DylanHebert_) November 10, 2024
The 54-year-old Rizzi has been with the Saints since 2019, first serving as just their special teams coordinator and later becoming both assistant head coach and special teams coordinator. Now that Rizzi is their interim coach as well, the Saints managed to break an ugly seven-game losing streak to improve to 3-7 on the year. That said however, celebration injuries by management are becoming a bit too common in pro sports these days.
