Dennis Allen is no longer head coach of the New Orleans Saints. One day after the 22:23 defeat against the Carolina Panthers, the NFL team announced the separation. The defeat against one of the weakest teams in the league was the seventh in a row for the Saints after a furious start to the season.
In the team’s statement, owner Gayle Benson and general manager Mickey Loomis were full of praise for Allen. He is an “excellent football coach” and has been an “integral part of the organization’s success for the majority of the past 20 years.” No real reason for the separation is given. “I felt like this decision had to be made,” Benson is quoted as saying.
Allen first came to the Saints in 2006 and worked as an assistant coach until 2010. In 2011 he moved to the Denver Broncos as defensive coordinator, and a year later he became head coach of the Oakland Raiders. After being fired there, he came back to the Saints in 2015, initially as defensive assistant, then defensive coordinator and from 2022 as head coach.
Firing Allen could be a first step toward a rebuild for the Saints. Many people in New Orleans have been calling for this for a long time; For years, player salaries have been pushed back through restructured contracts, keeping the Saints somehow under the salary cap. According to the Over the Cap website, the Louisiana team would be over the cap by around $71.4 million for 2025 – many layoffs and/or adjustments will again be necessary.
The question now is what are the Saints looking for – a head coach for a fresh start that starts in 2025 and likely lasts a few years? Or will we continue with the previous tactics, which promise above all mediocrity?
