On Monday morning, the New Orleans Saints finally decided to do what fans have been asking for, for a while: firing head coach Dennis Allen. While the Saints have been absolutely abysmal under Allen this season, losing seven straight games, this move was still somewhat surprising to fans.
While definitely the right move, it was surprising because fans didn’t think the organization would actually make the call. It’s been clear for a while that Allen couldn’t get the job done, however, general manager Mickey Loomis repeatedly came to his defense, and it seemed as if he had no intentions to fire Allen, at least not during the season.
Even though Allen has now been fired, that seems to still be the case. As details emerge from this Monday morning move, it’s becoming clear the decision to fire Allen came from team owner Gayle Benson, and not Loomis.
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) November 4, 2024
Gayle Benson and Mickey Loomis speak on the decision to fire Dennis Allen
In the team’s official announcement, both Benson and Loomis commented on the decision to let Allen go. Benson expressed that Allen has been with the team for years, and has always been loyal and professional, but she felt this is a decision that needed to be made.
Loomis’ statement, on the other hand, sounded like the things he say every week on WWL. He called Allen an excellent coach, and said the avalanche of injuries this season took its toll, but credited Allen for never making excuses, and says that’s why this decision is disappointing.
Reading between the lines, as fans like to do, it seems clear that out of these two, one was clearly more on board with the decision to fire Allen.
That belief is further supported by a recent piece from Nick Underhill. Underhill reported that Benson started to meet with players last week, hoping to get an understanding of what’s been going wrong. In the end, this process resulted in Dennis Allen being fired.
With Benson seemingly calling the shot, fans can no longer question her involvement or how much she cares. She clearly wants to see a change, and the organization took a step towards making that happen on Monday.