The fallout from the New Orleans Saints' ugly loss to the Panthers always felt like it turned a Dennis Allen firing from an if to a when, and the decision landed on Monday morning.
The Cajun Cannon Bobby Hebert said he wasn't sure if the Saints might try to ride things out to the Week 12, but the results made the decision inevitable after 9 weeks.
"I think Carolina was so bad that it was like shocking to the system for them to even be able to win that game at the end," Hebert said, "all we needed was a field goal. It’s not like we needed a touchdown. It was just very disappointing and the last time we lost seven games in a row it was Mike Ditka, so we’re looking at over two decades. So not surprising."
Next comes a slew of questions to answer for the Saints, and it'll be under special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi, who will now take on the interim head coach tag.
Rizzi has been with the Saints since 2019 and interviewed for the top job when the team was searching to replace Sean Payton, and now he gets his chance to prove he's deserving of a head coach role, whether it's with the Saints or elsewhere. It's also an 8-game stretch that the current cast of players has to prove they can be part of the franchise's future going forward.
Related
"It’s an opportunity for Rizzi, how they're going to play for him, and the players have to realize, OK, the coach is no longer here, but if you want that NFL lifestyle, you’re constantly being evaluated; not only for the Saints but other NFL teams," Hebert said. "So you’ve got to be a pro, you have to be able to look in the mirror and take responsibility for your actions as an individual player if you want to last in the NFL and not say, 'oh, we weren’t winning because of Coach Allen.' It’s always a combination of things.”
Before the Saints play another game they'll have to work through the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday, a day where they'll almost certainly be fielding calls from teams across the NFL checking price tags. The Saints have a host of veteran players that might be difficult to trade, but there will be decisions to make. The most intriguing option will be Marshon Lattimore, who has played at a high level this year at age 28 despite a slew of injuries that have kept him off the field.
Related
Lattimore was featured regularly in trade rumors throughout the offseason but nothing materialized.
"[Saints GM Mickey Loomis] always takes the approach, I don’t want to make a living getting rid of great players, and I think Marshon Lattimore would be an obvious one. I think he’s the greatest cornerback in Saints history," Hebert continued. "But then you have to look at the value of what you can get for him and all that, so, they’re not buyers, they might not do anything, but if they would do something, then they would be sellers."