Is the Saints head coach Dennis Allen on the hot seat?
By: Jake Rajala
Who Dat Nation arguably witnessed a phenomenal performance from Andy Dalton without Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara in the London NFL game today, yet they were edged by their utterly despised foe, the Minnesota Vikings. At the last moment, the Saints kicker Will Lutz missed a field goal in a double-doink fashion. Nonetheless, the Saints have still found themselves with a 1-3 record — regardless of their effort or excuses. With that said, a realistic question surrounds the Saints HC: Is Dennis Allen on the hot seat?
I undoubtedly believe that Allen is on the hot seat. The Saints lead the league in penalties, giveaways, and Allen’s defense is playing below its talent level. Those three prior factors reflect poorly on the Saints alpha coach. The Saints also are fortunate that they have one win this season, as Marshon Lattimore had a brutal penalty in Week 1 that gave the weak Atlanta Falcons a chance to convert a game-winning field goal.
Besides reckless behavior from a plethora of Saints profiles, it’s troubling that the Saints QB1 (Jameis Winston) has regressed from last season. It should be mentioned that the 34-year-old Andy Dalton, who hasn’t had a winning record in this league since 2015, has looked crisper than Winston. At this point, it looks like the Saints will need to do deep scouting to find a young QB in the 2023 off-season.
It should be noted that Allen didn’t have the most glamorous resume entering his second stint as HC, but rather his continuity with the Saints led him to rise from the DC to the HC spot. Well, it’s safe to say that his familiarity may have resulted in his squad drinking the cool-aid this summer.
If the Saints find themselves with one or two wins at the mid-point of the season, I would not be dumbstruck if the Saints axe the former abysmal Raiders HC. If Sean Payton becomes makes an ambush to return as the new HC in the near future, it may be wise for Mickey Loomis to pull the trigger on acquiring the legendary Saints figure, too. Doug Marrone, who is the Saints current OL coach and former Jaguars HC, could potentially bring more robust energy to the Saints HC spot in 2022.
