Right now, Dennis Allen’s job as head coach of the New Orleans Saints seems secure despite the likelihood of missing the playoffs for the second time in as many seasons.
All indications point to Allen being safe, but if they don’t win the NFC South, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, “the organization’s decision-makers will sit down to mull how they can get this team to where they believe it belongs.” That might alter depending on the outcomes of Sunday’s games.
Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports that the Saints coaching staff has been acting as though Allen will play again the next season for the past few weeks.
If the Saints triumph over the Tampa Bay Bucs and the Atlanta Falcons, they can win the division.
The Saints haven’t missed the postseason in three straight years since 2014–16, if they don’t make it. They were out of the postseason in back-to-back seasons just twice under Sean Payton’s leadership (in 2007 and 2008).
Allen was named the Saints’ new head coach after Payton retired at the end of the 2021 campaign. The 51-year-old was already well-versed in the organisation when he assumed the position of head coach.
In 2006, Allen was an assistant defensive line coach on Payton’s inaugural coaching staff with the Saints. Before departing in 2011 to take a position as defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos, he spent five seasons with the franchise.
Allen became head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 2012. He was with.
The next year, Payton promoted Allen to defensive coordinator after bringing him back as a senior defensive assistant in 2015.
Under Allen, New Orleans had a 15–18 record. If the club wins on Sunday, it will have a winning record for the season. However, following four seasons in a row with at least 11 wins from 2017 to ’20, this will be the third year in a row that the squad has won fewer than 10 games.
