Saints Head Coach Let Go
After losing their seventh straight game to league worst Carolina Panthers, who came into the game with a 1-7 record, the Saints finally let go of their head coach, Dennis Allen.
The loss to Carolina was confusing, to say the least, but not necessarily a shocker for Saints fans, who at this point were expecting the worst. If you just look at the stat sheet, it would appear that the Saints dominated the game. They outgained the Panthers 427 to 246 on total yards, had 10 more first downs, had the ball for nine more minutes of game time, and even ran for 117 more yards.
Nevertheless, they allowed Carolina to hang into the game, leading 22-17 until Bryce Young (yes, Bryce Young) led a four play, 64-yard drive against the Allen coordinated Saints defense to win the game.
As with the Allen firing, it seems like it has been a long time coming for people both in and out of the Saints locker room. If the Panthers game told us anything, it was that whatever presence Allen had over the locker room, whether that was when he was the defensive coordinator under Sean Payton or when he first became the head coach, was completely gone. After all, the one thing the Saints have been able to hang their hat on has been defense, which completely fell apart to the worst offense in professional football on Sunday, November 3.
The sentiment that he lost the locker room was confirmed during the Saints media availability on November 4. When speaking on Allen and his firing, Tyrann Matthieu even said, "We all played a part in him not being here anymore." Even before his official firing, Gayle Benson had meetings with several players about a coaching change and Allen's presence in the locker room, ultimately leading to her decision to let him go.
With Allen out of the door, the Saints have promoted special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi to their interim head coaching position. Rizzi is a tough leader, who tight end Foster Moreau described as a "unbelievable leader of men." For Rizzi, simply a change in the locker room could help reignite any sort of fire in this team.
While
any hopes of the Saints season beyond getting a good lottery pick should be
thrown out, stringing together some wins under Rizzi and Carr could give the
Saints front office an interesting predicament this offseason over whether to
"blow it up" and start over at the draft with a new coaching staff or keep some
of the pieces together. It starts with a win against their rival Falcons on
Sunday, November 10.
