I picked the Saints specifically because they had the second-worst record the same year we had the worst. They changed coaches. We changed coaches. They drafted Reggie Bush. We drafted Mario Williams. So they make a very good comparison. They hit bottom the same time we did and changed coaches the same time we did (there was even yammering the next year that the Texans screwed up and named the wrong coach).
So if the Saints have twice the holdovers after three years of Payton than the Texans have after three years of Kubiak then it supports your point that Kubiak cleaned out an empty cupboard. If they didn't, then it supports my theory that new regimes taking over bad teams get rid of all the holdovers as part of their mission to remake the ballclub in their own image plus the natural turnover that happens on a modern NFL roster.
Heck, I'm watching Josh McDaniels do that now in Denver and he took over an 8-8 team. My guess is that, by 2012, you can count on one hand the remaining Broncos who played under Shanahan.
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