The New Orleans Saints actually did it. Dennis Allen has been fired and the team will now be in search of a new head coach for the second time since 2022. Fans are not upset about this news, as Allen was clearly not the right head coach for the Saints and has now proven with two franchises that he's not head coach material.
The #Saints have fired coach Dennis Allen after a humbling loss to the #Panthers, per me and @MikeGarafolo. pic.twitter.com/HrVl6A4ZnN
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 4, 2024
Some guys are great coordinators but don't have the chops to be a head coach and that sums up Allen to a tee. He'll be an attractive defensive coordinator candidate this offseason but hopefully teams have learned their mistake from giving him a shot at bigger and brighter things.
With the move finally made and the Dennis Allen era now officially over in the Big Easy, let's break down the three biggest reasons why this move had to happen.
Seven-game losing streak
After starting the season 2-0, Saints fans were having a ball and wondering just how far this team could go in 2024. Well, reality hit them pretty quickly, as before we knew it, they were 2-2 and then 2-4 and then 2-6. Following an absolutely embarrassing loss to the measly Panthers in Week 9 to drop them to 2-7 and hand them their seventh straight loss, it was clear that it was time for Allen to go.
Losing seven games in a row is actually hard to do in the NFL. The losing streak itself definitely played a hand in Allen's firing but he was also let go because of how the Saints were losing these games. They lost a pair of close games to the Eagles and Falcons where they seemingly had the win in their hands but squandered it late.
For the next four games, it was blowout central, where the Chiefs, Buccaneers, Broncos, and Chargers all took it to Allen's crew. Then, despite outgaining the Panthers by 150+ yards, rushing for 150+ yards, and winning the turnover battle against Carolina, it still wasn't enough. He had to go.
Saints outgained the Panthers by 150+ yards, ran for 150+ yards, and won the turnover battle
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) November 3, 2024
Over the last 20 years, teams had gone 275-0 with that formula.
Now 275-1.
Lost the locker room
It wasn't hard to notice Saints players piping up on social media following the atrocious loss. Cameron Jordan, one of the most beloved Saints of all time, was dumbfounded by the loss and took to social media to express his frustrations.
Khalen Saunders also didn't shy away from sharing how annoyed he was with all of the losing his team had been doing. Saunders took a more comical approach but the message was there. Once the locker room is lost, it's hard for a head coach to come back from that.
It's good to see that the front office was aware of this aspect because sometimes they'll look the other way and pretend as though all of this is on the players. Nah, when the locker room is this far gone, the head coach is usually the culprit.
This team wasn't going anywhere with Allen
While some of us knew that the Saints were never going to be a legitimate playoff contender with Dennis Allen at the helm, it became crystal clear during their seven-game slide. A 2-0 start doesn't mean you're Super Bowl bound by any means but it's normally a good start to ensuring you can throw your hat into the playoff ring.
Well, just like that, the Saints had squandered those chances. It was pretty clear that they weren't going to be a competitive team this year after they suffered four straight blowout losses, but after losing to arguably the worst team in the league, it was suddenly clear as day that Allen wasn't the right guy to lead the charge in New Orleans.
If the Saints stuck with Allen this year, they'd have been lucky to win another game. Now that he's no longer coaching the team, maybe they still fail to win another game but at least there's hope that the next coach won't stink it up in the big moments.