Shocking moment Saints coach Darren Rizzi screams in the face of his own player… before being pulled away
Interim New Orleans Saints head coach Darren Rizzi could be seen yelling in the face of one of his players during an angry outburst during their game against the New York Giants.
After the Giants scored a punt return touchdown, rookie Saints punter Matthew Hayball felt the wrath of his seething coach on the sideline of MetLife Stadium.
In shocking footage that has gone viral online, Rizzi smashed his baseball cap on the ground and then got in Hayball’s face to express his anger.
While gesturing animatedly at the Australian, New Orleans running back Alvin Kamara quickly intervened to pull him away.
Fortunately for both sides, the Saints avoided a near-disaster when the Giants’ punt return touchdown was ruled out due to a holding penalty.
Yet, fans on social media are still targeting Rizzi for losing his cool in such a humiliating manner against a rookie player.
Interim Saints coach Darren Rizzi was seen screaming in his own player’s face on Sunday
One user wrote on This is not what a head coach looks like.”
Another said: ‘Fake tough guy. Attack a gambler. Dude hasn’t accomplished anything in this competition. Not head coaching material.”
“What can a punter do to deserve this level of coach tantrum,” a third posted. ‘Interim’ is the highest level Coach Glizzy should reach.”
“I think it’s a shame Hayball isn’t the national team coach,” said a fourth.
While they simply concluded: ‘Not head coach material’.
Rizzi, who first joined the Saints in 2019 as special teams coordinator before moving to assistant head coach three years later, took on the interim job in early November following the firing of Dennis Allen.
New Orleans was 2-7 at the time of Allen’s firing, while the team has gone 2-1 in Rizzi’s three games at the helm so far.
Hayball, meanwhile, was signed this offseason as an undrafted free agent on a deal worth $35,000 guaranteed, including a $10,000 signing bonus.