Firing Dennis Allen leaves the Saints with the least desirable coach opening in the NFL

Dennis Allen was supposed to be the continuation of the Sean Payton era for the New Orleans Saints. Instead, he brought it to its logical conclusion.

Allen held serve for two seasons, keeping an aging core hovering around .500 without truly threatening anyone in the NFC playoff hunt. But a 2-0 start that made Derek Carr look like a savvy veteran acquisition quickly crumbled into a 2-7 record. It was clear nothing good was waiting on New Orleans’s horizon.

Thus, Allen was fired after seven straight losses, an inevitable decision that still feels a bit premature. That’s not because Allen deserved more time to turn things around — he couldn’t — but because, well, who else is going to want to inherit this roster?

The #Saints have fired coach Dennis Allen after a humbling loss to the #Panthers, per me and @MikeGarafolo. pic.twitter.com/HrVl6A4ZnN

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 4, 2024

The majority of the Saints’ key players are either on the wrong side of 30 years old or will be in 2025, including Carr, Alvin Kamara, Cameron Jordan, Demario Davis, Tyrann Mathieu and Taysom Hill. This year’s garbage record will create the highest draft position New Orleans has seen since at least 2008 when it selected Sedrick Ellis seventh overall. Unfortunately, general manager Mickey Loomis has struggled since his stellar draft class of 2017. Since picking up Kamara, Ryan Ramczyk and Marshon Lattimore in one fell swoop, just one Saints draftee has been named to a Pro Bowl — center Erik McCoy.

Loomis’s draft misses, which include first round disappointments like Trevor Penning and Peyton Turner the last four years, wouldn’t be so much of an issue if it weren’t for the other vein of his roster management. The longtime executive has long treated the salary cap like a college student handles a credit card, deferring payments well into the future with signing bonuses and restructures.

That works when you’re keeping Drew Brees in butter brickle. It’s much less appealing when your quarterback is getting roasted by Michael Thomas for getting one of his team’s few bright young stars concussed and your defense has given up more yards than all but four other teams. Loomis’s estimated 2025 salary cap space to fix that? A robust negative-$61 million, per Over the Cap.

There’s little to build around in Louisiana. Chris Olave has WR1 bonafides and is only 24 years old. Rashid Shaheed is an electric, if slightly specialized, deep threat. Paulson Adebo is quietly becoming a trustable cornerback.

Bryan Bresee might develop into a reliable starter even if his current play on the field doesn’t line up with the four sacks he’s recorded (he has as many quarterback pressures as Alontae Taylor this fall. Taylor is a cornerback). Taliese Fuaga is extremely mean and versatile, which are wonderful traits for a rookie offensive tackle to have.

Veterans like Lattimore (still playing at a high level, but now bringing injury concerns), McCoy (currently hurt) and a still-dealing Kamara offer some latitude to bridge the gap between the team’s past and its future. Ultimately, however, this is a 2-7 team with no cash to spend on free agents, even as Adebo heads toward the open market next spring. Building through the draft is the sensible solution to that but, whoops, Loomis’s recent track record there is soundly below average.

This is what the Saints have to pitch to their next full time head coach. A bunch of old, respected veterans considerably closer to retirement than their NFL debuts. A high draft pick and a front office that has lost the benefit of the doubt when it comes to identifying impact rookies. A punter with a top speed of 20 miles per hour and, you know what, that one actually sounds pretty cool.

Saints punter Matthew Hayball reached a top speed of 20.19 mph on a fake punt, the fastest speed by a punter as a ball carrier since Week 10, 2018 (Johnny Townsend, 20.48 mph).

The play added 11.8% in win probability, from 42.9% to 54.7%.#NOvsCAR | #Saints pic.twitter.com/ADtz2yWcq7

— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) November 3, 2024

The value of Allen was as a scapegoat. A guy who could keep fans invested while the folks behind the scenes worked to untangle a knot they’d spent the last decade creating, then fade away when it was time to rise up and contend again. But seven straight losses was untenable, especially when one came against the desiccated husk of the Carolina Panthers.

That killed the dream of Allen being good enough to set someone else up on the sunny side of New Orleans’s rebuild. Instead, the 2025 hire will have the opportunity to go spelunking with Carr (who carries a $20 million dead salary cap hit even if designated a post-June 1 release next offseason), a bunch of contracts the Saints will be happy to see slide off the books and some former first and second round picks who may or may not actually be good.

The good news is expectations for year one will be low for whomever takes the reins. The bad news is, well, good luck selling that to Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn or the rest of 2025’s hottest head coach candidates.