Have the Saints Done Enough to Save Dennis Allen’s Job?

It has been a rough year in New Orleans to say the least in head coach Dennis Allen’s second go around manning the ship of an NFL franchise. Sure, he was put in a tough spot being asked to fill the shoes of Sean Payton. Not to mention the QB play has been subpar at best. But the Saints went 9-8 last season with an even worse quarterback situation, and the product they put on the field this season was simply not good enough.

With the Buccaneers defeating Carolina on Sunday, the Saints have been officially eliminated from playoff contention. Just three weeks ago, the team hit rock bottom. An epic collapse against Tampa Bay that led to their fourth loss in five games and dropped the team to 4-9 put Dennis Allen in a spot where it looked like there was no shot he would return as the Saints coach in 2023. Since then, however, somewhat impossibly, the Saints have won their last three games and have a home matchup with the Panthers this week where a win would get them to 8-9 on the year.

It is somewhat rare for a coach to get fired after just one season, happening 29 times throughout the history of the league. But with the stretch the Saints had in the middle of the season, Allen looked poised to become the 30th. Wins over Atlanta at home then on the road in frigid Cleveland on Christmas Eve and in Philadelphia on Sunday I believe have bought Allen one more season to fix things in New Orleans.

The Saints do not own their first round pick, trading it to the Eagles before the draft last offseason, so the quarterback situation does not have one easy fix to it. With a lack of draft capital as well a lack of cap space, it will certainly be an interesting offseason to see how the Saints navigate their issues. But don’t be surprised when Dennis Allen is still coaching the team at the start of next season.