The Saints posted a comfortable win over the Panthers on Sunday, but the 2023 season has not gone according to plan. New Orleans sits at 6-7 on the year, a mark which has the team in contention to win the NFC South. Nevertheless, signficant changes could be coming in the offseason. 
Head coach Dennis Allen could be replaced this offseason, Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post writes. In the event a coaching change takes place, he adds, a replacement with an offensive background would be sought out. Allen had defensive coordinator experience prior to his time at the helm of the Raiders, which was then followed by a lengthy stint on that side of the ball before his promotion to head coach of the Saints.
The 51-year-old went just 8-28 in a two-plus year run with the Raiders, and his second opportunity as a head coach has not produced a strong showing in the win-loss department. The Saints went 7-10 in 2022, the first season of the post-Sean Payton era. After seven years as defensive coordinator, Allen was tapped as Payton’s successor. A strong defensive showing ensued, but the team’s offense struggled. Similar issues have emerged in 2023.
The Saints gave Allen a vote of confidence this offseason, so it came as little surprise that he was retained in the winter. It became clear a quarterback addition was needed, though, which led to the signing of Derek Carr after the end to his Raiders tenure. The three-time Pro Bowler landed a four-year, $150MM deal from New Orleans, leading to increased expectations for team and player. The Saints have not managed to find consistent success on the ground or through the air, however, leading to middling rankings in several offensive categories.
Carr has dealt with a number of injuries this season, and he has found himself in concussion protocol twice in his debut Saints campaign. Still, this season’s mediocre run has Allen’s New Orleans HC record sitting at 13-17. A postseason berth is still very much within reach as the team jockeys with the Falcons and Buccaneers, but missing the playoffs again would no doubt increase speculation about Allen’s job security.
Notably, La Canfora adds the Saints will be a team to watch at the QB spot in April’s draft. Carr’s deal includes guaranteed salaries of $30MM in 2024 and 2025 (in the latter case, the compensation kicks in on March 17 of that year). Carr’s struggles could lead New Orleans to explore one of the many signal-callers expected to hear their names called on Day 1 of a draft headlined by Caleb Williams and Drake Maye. Given the financial commitments to Carr, adding a rookie quarterback would certainly create an interesting situation at the position.
Time still remains for Allen and the Saints to show improvement down the stretch. In the absence of a notable rebound from poor showings earlier in the year, however, New Orleans will be a team to monitor in the lead-in to the 2024 head coaching cycle.
Newspaper in D.C. more worried about a team in New Orleans than the team formerly known as the Washington Redskins.
As long as we’re bringing up coaches on the hot seat, Bill Belichick has to be on that list as New England was eliminated from playoff contention with the Sunday results from Week 14.
I think plenty of articles have been written about the fires of Mount Doom that are otherwise known as Bill Belichick’s chair…
Allen’s seat has been on fire since the start of the season. Yes, the Saints have a little above average defense, but it’s getting long in the tooth, and they’ve struggled against playoff caliber teams. The offense is a hot mess, again utilizing players who may have seen their best days. The Saints need a complete reset. Jon Gruden and an influx of younger talent would be a start. My opinion only.
I would like to see Gruden in Sunny San Diego
Wait, what?
Okay Los Angeles …. with the Chargers
Although, he has had a good relationship with Derek Carr and New Orleans would be a good place to go
Either that or bring back Bum Philips!
He better be. He’s a terrible head coach. Sucked with the Raiders and now sucks here
Yeah, I’m not sure what New Orleans expected. Dennis Allen has shown us who he is as a coach. To be honest, as good as the Saints’ defense has been, Allen’s playcalling has always been kind of average. The Minneapolis Miracle was only possible because Allen called a prevent coverage with a linebacker covering the middle of the field with a few seconds left on the clock (of course, if a catch occurred in that zone, it’s game over and the Saints win-if anything, Allen should have wanted a catch there, and having a linebacker in coverage at all in that situation was ridiculous). He’s run a good defense in New Orleans, but my gut feeling has always been that that was more based on the players’ individual talent than Allen’s playcalling.
Outside of my own opinion on Allen as a coordinator, his head coaching tenure in New Orleans has had a few similarities to his Raiders days, namely his average to mediocre game management skills and lack of ability to add to the offense. Is Allen the worst coach in the league? No, he’s not, but he’s also never going to elevate a team. He’ll give you average results at best, but he won’t tank your team on his own. To be honest, this sort of felt like a temporary solution from the start in New Orleans, as if they were hoping that Payton would eventually come back to them, and that Allen would be okay stepping back into his old role if that happened. That’s just my opinion, obviously.
I think the Saints need a guy like Mike Tomlin who is very good at managing players with egos. Thomas, Kamara and Evans can all be moody and sulk when they feel their not getting enough respect. Being an effective HC today is more than just being a good game manager…you have to have excellent people skills as well and I’m not sure that is one of Dennis Allen’s strengths.
Who’s evans?
Did anyone seriously think Dennis Allen was the long-term answer?
How are we just gonna gloss over the fact that this will be the second time Derrick Carr got Dennis Allen fired .. ?
There is only one member of the Saints coaching staff who should be retained, and he’s the likeliest to leave for a better opportunity (Darren Rizzi).
Then again, the Saints made quite a blunder when they cut Lutz and Gillikin in favor of Grupe and Hedley. Hedley is absolutely terrible with one of the weakest legs I’ve seen in quite some time.
I’m glad that I’m not the only person who has seen that. You are 100% correct, Hedley will cost them down the stretch, when the anemic offense is backed up on the 5, and he gets off one of his patented 40 yard punts with no hang time. Rizzi can stay, because for the most part, ST has helped keep them in games this year. Also agree that Carr seems to be a jinx to Allen.