New Orleans Saints punter Matthew Hayball was on the receiving end of interim head coach Darren Rizzi’s wrath on Sunday during their matchup against the New York Giants.
Hayball punted a ball to returner Ihmir Smith-Marsette in the second quarter. Smith-Marsette made a move and took the punt all the way back for what the Giants thought was a touchdown, even nearly fumbling the ball on his way to the end zone.
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Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi is shown during the second half against the Los Angeles Rams at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Dec. 1, 2024. (Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images)
As the Giants celebrated, players started to realize a flag had been thrown on the play. New York was called for holding, wiping Smith-Marsette’s punt-return touchdown off the board.
Rizzi was seen on the sideline tearing into Hayball. Saints running back Alvin Kamara had to get in between his coach and his teammate. It was a 43-yard punt, but it appeared Rizzi was upset with how it was kicked to Smith-Marsette.
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Matthew Hayball (Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images/File)
The Saints’ special teams clearly holds a special place in Rizzi’s heart. He joined the Saints as their special teams coordinator in 2019 after serving in the same role with the Miami Dolphins. He was promoted to special teams coordinator and associate head coach in 2022.
Rizzi took over as the team’s interim head coach in the middle of this season after New Orleans fired Dennis Allen.
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Darren Rizzi (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert/File)
He’s 2-1 as Saints head coach, and the Saints were leading the Giants 7-3 at the time the incident with his punter occurred.
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