The New Orleans Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen on Monday, a day after the Saints lost to the division rival Carolina Panthers for their seventh straight defeat.
“Dennis has been part of our organization for many years. 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,” New Orleans owner Gayle Benson said in a statement.
“However, this decision is something that I felt we needed to make at this time. 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.”
Sunday's defeat to the Panthers brings the Saints to 2-7 on the season. The team started off with a pair of victories showcasing a high-powered offense, but things quickly unraveled.
Allen was promoted to head coach before the 2022 season. He was hired as a defensive assistant in 2015 before he was named defensive coordinator in November of that year, serving in that role through 2021.
Allen went 16-18 in his first two years with New Orleans before his 2-7 record this season, for an 18-25 record overall. His teams never made the playoffs.
Allen also coached with the Saints from 2006 to 2010 as a defensive assistant, winning a Super Bowl with them in 2009. He left to become the defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos in 2011 before the Oakland Raiders hired him as head coach in 2012.
In two-plus seasons leading the Raiders, Allen was 8-28. Oakland also fired him in the middle of his third season.
And both times Allen was fired, Derek Carr was his starting quarterback. Allen was head coach when the Raiders drafted Carr in 2014 and was then the Saints’ coach when the team signed Carr in 2023.
New Orleans started this season hot, winning its first two games and scoring 91 points combined in those first two weeks.
But after they lost by a combined five points in Weeks 3 and 4, the Saints lost their next four games by double digits. Carr missed three of those losses after he hurt his shoulder in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5.
Special team coordinator Darren Rizzi has been named interim head.
New Orleans’s next game is Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.