METAIRIE, La. (AP) — When Saints players arrived Wednesday for their first practice under interim coach Darren Rizzi, most of their lockers were in different locations.

The warm-up routine before practice had been changed. Offensive and defensive players were instructed to wear different colored jerseys and run drills on the opposite side of midfield from where they had conducted that portion of practice all season.

“We want things to be a little different,” said Rizzi, who was promoted Monday — after a seven-game losing streak precipitated the firing of third-year coach Dennis Allen.

“Just a different feel, a different vibe,” Rizzi continued. “We had a major change at the top and we just want it to feel a little different for everyone and keep everyone kind of on their toes and with their antenna up. That’s the thought process behind all of this, with a lot of the things we do.

Rizzi had been the special teams coordinator. And while he will continue to oversee that unit, he hired former NFL special teams coordinator Marwan Maalouf to help him with the day-to-day aspects of his job. He also reshuffled the defensive staff to compensate for the departure of Allen, who oversaw the defense and called defensive formations during games.

Todd Grantham has been removed from his duties on the defensive line and is now a senior advisor to defensive coordinator Joe Woods. Defensive assistant Brian Young now oversees the defensive line and works with linebackers coach Mike Hodges to coordinate New Orleans’ run defense.

The offensive personnel, led by coordinator Klint Kubiak, remains unchanged. But that seemed to be the exception on a day when so many other things were designed to make players feel like it was the first day of a new eight-game season.

Strategist Derek Carrwho has gone through several coaching changes during his nine seasons with the Raiders, agreed that whatever Rizzi’s approach, “it just has to be different.”

Carr noted that Rizzi encouraged players to choose different seats in meetings and sit next to different teammates, just to change their perspective.

“There has to be a new energy because you keep going several times in a row and it hasn’t gone well,” Carr said. “It looks different and I hope it results in wins.”

Rizzi, a college junior from Rhode Island, was the head coach at his alma mater before joining the NFL with Miami in 2009. He was hired by then-Dolphins executive and former NFL coach Bill Parcells.

“It was the highlight of my career at that point in my life,” said Rizzi, 54, a 16-year-old native of northern New Jersey. New York Giants fan when Parcells coached the franchise’s 1986 team to the Super Bowl title.

“I grew up idolizing the man,” Rizzi recalled, adding that Parcells became his mentor while they were both with the Dolphins — and so on.

Since Monday, Rizzi has spoken with Parcells and asked his advice. He also consulted with Denver coach Sean Payton, another Parcells disciple who brought Rizzi to New Orleans in 2019, as well as Lions coach Dan Campbell and former fellow assistant at New Orleans.

Rizzi always coveted a chance to become an NFL head coach. He wishes it hadn’t resulted from his boss’s firing, he said, but he now feels obligated to do everything he can in the final eight weeks of this season to prove that the general manager Mickey Loomis promoted the right person.

“I’m not going to stand here and lie to you; there’s a human element to it,” Rizzi said, reflecting on the encouragement he received from his wife, five children, mother and other friends and family members.

“I’m up for the challenge,” he continued. “I am happy and proud to lead this organization.”

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