Dennis Allen's tenure as Saints head coach is officially over.
A season that started with two blowout wins has now turned to disaster after seven straight losses. The team opted to make a coaching change, a source confirmed to WWL, on Monday after a loss to the Panthers that reached new levels of frustration and the longest losing streak since the final year of Mike Ditka's regime in 1999.
“Obviously when you’re not winning it’s hard to say that you are [doing a good job]," Allen said Sunday when asked about his job status. "I mean, that’s hard to say, and look, I’ve got to be better for our guys and here’s what I’ll say, I’m gonna keep coming in every day and fighting my ass off just like I have every single day that I’ve been here, and I’ll just keep doing that.”
Allen's head coaching tenure ends a 9-year coaching run with the Saints that began in 2015, taking over as head coach after Sean Payton's departure following the 2021 season. Allen's final record as Saints head coach will be 18-25. He is the first head coach to be fired mid-season since Dick Nolan was fired midway through a 1-15 season in 1980.
"Dennis has been part of our organization for many years," Saints team owner Gayle Benson wrote in a news release announcing the decision. "He is highly regarded with the NFL. He has been extremely loyal and profession and most importantly an excellent football coach for us. All of this makes today very tough for me and our organization."
Saints special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi, who has been with the team since 2019 and serves in the role of assistant head coach will take over as head coach.
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The Saints at 2-7 are currently tied with six other teams for the NFL's worst record but the questions are just beginning. The league's trading deadline is on Tuesday and teams will certainly be calling about potential deals for veteran players. The Saints will also have to take a look at key positions throughout their organization before a head coaching search commences, and they still have to navigate eight more games before the 2024 season can be put to bed. The Saints will have to determine in those eight games what, if anything, should be kept around from this current regime, such as new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and particular members of his staff.
"DA is an excellent football coach. This season we had an avalanche of injuries. It took its toll," Saints GM Mickey Loomis said. "DA never offered excuses, he fought each day for this organization and this team and that is what makes today disappointing. Dennis has been an integral part of this organization's success for the better part of twenty years. He will be missed."
Firing a head coach barely 24 hours before the league trading deadline is basically a signal flare seen across the NFL landscape that you'll be open for business. The phone will likely be ringing off the hook.
Such a move began to feel inevitable as the losing streak dragged on and things didn't get better. The Saints have dealt with an onslaught of injuries this season that have made things difficult to gauge, particularly with starting QB Derek Carr out three weeks with a torn oblique. Carr returned in Week 9, but the results didn't change.
"To even think that that could happen sucks, you know, so it’s the sucky part of this business and it’s the sucky part of where we’re at right now," Carr said.
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Allen has now been fired twice in his career, in both instances with Carr as his quarterback. The reunion in New Orleans was supposed to be what put the Saints back on track following a 7-10 season that was couched with the facts that team legends Drew Brees and Sean Payton had departed in back-to-back seasons. Cracks began to show throughout the 2023 season, with infighting, on-field blowups and the like. The Saints struggled to a 5-7 record, but a surprising late-season run that included wins in four of the final five games likely bought the regime another year.
The offense was rebuilt. Methods were changed. Training camp was sent to L.A. All felt fixed until it wasn't, and that all came crashing down this week in spectacular fashion. A decision on Carr's future is one the team will have to weigh beyond this season.
"My job is to play quarterback, take care of the football, try to score touchdowns and put us in position to win football games," Carr said, "and the one thing I’ve learned when that stuff happens is if you don’t have a tight group, it can go south real quick."
Check back for updates.