With the Week 1 contest against the Carolina Panthers looming, the hot seat watch for New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen begins in earnest.
Heading into Year 3, Allen actually led the Saints from a 7-10 mark in 2022 to 9-8 last season, yet the vibes around the team don’t suggest the slight improvement that could potentially lead to an even better 2024.
Instead, Allen features prominently at fourth overall in new hot-seat rankings from USA Today’s Nate Davis:
“Recycled after an unsuccessful tenure in Oakland ended a decade ago, he now owns a 24-46 career mark with nary a playoff appearance as a head coach. And while Allen’s defense has outpaced the offense in the years since QB Drew Brees’ retirement, if he doesn’t get this organization a successful reset holistically, hard to imagine Allen will enjoy another Mardi Gras as a local.”
Harsh, yet fair, especially with how things have gone for the Saints this summer while missing out on big-name free agents, struggling to prevent a key bust on the offensive line and having a rookie quarterback be more hyped than starter Derek Carr.
For Allen, it’s a combination of the track record and the Saints’ refusal to properly key in on a rebuild that has things feeling so lukewarm. That leaves the potential for the team to shock by improving on last year’s nine-win mark, especially in a volatile NFC South.
But a worse record would indeed fire up these hot-seat conversations even more by roughly halfway through the season—never mind a possible quarterback controversy, too.
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