4 scapegoats if things go wrong for the Saints in 2022

1. Dennis Allen

When things go downhill, the head coach is the one who hears the most crap. Sean Payton got a pass most of the time simply because of how proven he was in the league but that won’t be the case for Dennis Allen.

Despite his success at turning New Orleans’ defense around during his stint as the team’s defensive coordinator, fans won’t wait long to turn on Allen if things are going poorly. They’ll look back to his failed tenure with the Raiders from 2012 to 2014 and point to how he should have never been chosen for the position in the first place.

It’s easy to blame the head coach because they’re the ones making the decisions during the games. If Allen opts to go for it on a key fourth down rather than kick the field goal and it ends up costing the team, he’ll get chewed out for it. Any questionable decision he makes will be studied under a magnifying glass until the next questionable call comes.

While Allen did have a rough go of it during his time in Oakland, it’s been nearly a decade since he first became an NFL head coach and he’s learned a lot since then. Fans won’t keep that in mind though if things go south this year. He’ll be the biggest scapegoat for the team if the Saints don’t play well in 2022.