After the first two weeks of the season, with the Saints firing on all cylinders in two blowout wins, Dennis Allen was the toast of the town.
Seven weeks later, he’s out of a job.
After the Saints dropped their seventh game in a row Sunday — their first seven-game losing streak since 1999 — the team fired Allen as its head coach.
“Dennis has been part of our organization for many years,” writes Owner Gayle Benson in a statement released on the team’s social media pages. “He is highly regarded within the NFL. He has been extremely loyal and professional and most importantly an excellent football coach for us. All of this makes today very tough for me and our organization.
“However, this decision is something that I felt we needed to make at this time,” Benson continued. “I wish nothing but the best in the future for Dennis and his family. He will always be considered in the highest regard by me and everyone within our organization.”
Saints Executive Vice President and General Manager Mickey Loomis added, “DA is an excellent football coach. This season, we have had an avalanche of injuries. It took its toll. DA has 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 20 years. He will be missed.”
Allen’s coaching career dates back to 1996, when he was a graduate assistant at Texas A&M.
His first NFL job was as defensive quality control coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons, where he spent four seasons before joining the Saints as assistant defensive line coach.
Allen was the Saints’ secondary coach for three seasons, including their Super Bowl championship season of 2009.
After a one-year stint as defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos, Allen was head coach of the then-Oakland Raiders from 2012 until his firing in 2014 after the team started 0-4.
Following his firing from the Raiders, Allen returned to the Saints as senior defensive assistant in 2015 and as defensive coordinator from 2015-2021 before being elevated to head coach following Sean Payton’s departure.
After going 8-28 in his two-plus seasons with the Raiders, Allen ends his tenure with the Saints with a record of 18-25 in two and a half seasons, including 7-10 in 2022 and 9-8 last year, missing out on a playoff berth to the Buccaneers by tiebreak.
Ross Jackson, the Saints beat writer for LouisianaSports.net, says Allen’s tenure culminated with many negative firsts.
“Becoming the first team to lose despite outgaining a team by 150-plus yards and winning a turnover battle (and) allowing Bryce Young to take his first victory formation as a starting quarterback in the NFL.”
The Saints outgained the Panthers 427-246 and forced the game’s only turnover.
“This is a move that the New Orleans Saints needed to make, despite them typically being a team that doesn’t make this type of in-season coaching moves,” says Jackson.
Allen becomes the first head coach that the Bensons have fired mid-season since they purchased the team in 1985.The two other in-season head coaching changes since then, Bum Phillips in 1985 and Jim Mora in 1996, were resignations.
The last Saints head coach to be fired in-season was Dick Nolan in 1980 after the team lost their first 12 games with Archie Manning at quarterback en route to a 1-15 finish and amid scores of “Aints” fans in the Superdome wearing paper bags over their heads in response to their anemic performance on the field.
Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi has been named interim head coach.
Jackson says that’s the right move.
“When you go to an interim head coach, you want somebody that’s got a relationship with players all across the roster, not just an offensive or a defensive guy,” says Jackson. “And certainly in this situation where you’re going to be evaluating your young talent for the rest of the year, you want somebody that’s got a relationship with your young players.”
Allen becomes the second NFL head coach fired this season, after Robert Saleh was let go from the New York Jets.
Now, part of the attention turns to who may be on Benson’s short list for the next head coach in Saints history.
“Ben Johnson, the offensive coordinator out of Detroit, Brian Flores, the defensive coordinator out of Minnesota, and I would imagine that Darren Rizzi, depending on how the rest of the season goes, will get consideration,” says Jackson. “It’s imperative for this team to move beyond familiar faces. Go outside the organization (and) find yourself a head coach that’s going to be able to bring you into a new era of football as opposed to being busy trying to recapture what you once had.”
As for one big name that could be a head coaching candidate next season, Jackson had a one-word response to when Bill Belichick’s name was brought up.
“No.”
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