Saints fire coach Dennis Allen after seventh straight loss. Darren Rizzi named interim coach

AP Sports Writer

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Saints fired coach Dennis Allen on Monday, a day after a loss at last-place Carolina extended the Saints’ losing streak to seven games — their longest since 1999.

“DA is an excellent football coach,” Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said. “This season, we’ve had an avalanche of injuries. It took its toll. DA has never offered excuses. He fought each day for this organization and this team and that is what makes today disappointing.”

The Saints named special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi the club’s interim coach for the final eight games of what is trending toward a fourth straight season without a playoff berth for New Orleans (2-7).

“This is not a day for celebration,” Rizzi said. “This is a tough day. At the same time, there’s only one way to fight through this.”

The 54-year-old Rizzi said he embraced the challenge he’s inherited because “I embrace everything.”

“I only know how to do things one way. I grew up a little bit of a fighter. I’ve really never really been handed anything,” Rizzi said, noting that he was a walk-on tight end in college at Rhode Island, an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1992 and got his first head coaching job with Division II New Haven in 1999.

“Literally, we’re going to reevaluate everything,” said Rizzi, who considers himself a disciple of two-time Super Bowl winning coach Bill Parcells, who was a Miami Dolphins executive when he gave Rizzi his first NFL job.

“You’re going to reevaluate everybody, everything, staff, the coaches the players,” Rizzi said. “Because, right now, when you lose seven games in a row, you’re obviously not in a place where you can stay status quo.”

Allen went 18-25 without a playoff appearance since taking over in 2022 after Sean Payton, the most successful coach in Saints history, began what turned out to be a one-season retirement from coaching.

Allen was promoted by Loomis after a six-season tenure as New Orleans’ defensive coordinator, a period that saw his unit ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in 2020 and 2021.

“Dennis has been a part of our organization for many years,” Saints owner Gayle Benson said, referring to Allen’s initial stint as a defensive assistant with New Orleans from 2006 to 2010. “He has been extremely loyal and professional.

“All of this makes today very tough for me and our organization,” Benson added. “However, this decision is something that I felt we needed to make at this time.”

In a written statement released by the team, Allen thanked Benson and Loomis for his opportunity, calling the Saints an “organization that will always be near and dear to my heart.”

Allen said he never questioned his players’ dedication and resolve, adding, “I am sorry the results weren’t better, because they were certainly deserved.”

The Saints continued to field one of the better defenses in the NFL during Allen’s first two seasons as head coach, but the offense has been erratic and often struggled in the late stages of close games.

This year, with new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak in charge, the offense began the season by scoring a stunning 91 points during consecutive victories in Weeks 1 and 2. Since then, however, the unit has struggled to produce while injuries to key players have mounted.

Center Erik McCoy, the Saints’ most accomplished offensive lineman, was the first to go down in Week 3 and hasn’t played since. Meanwhile, New Orleans has endured stints without quarterback Derek Carr, top receivers Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed and veteran guard Cesar Ruiz, among others.

New Orleans entered Sunday’s loss to the Panthers without three of its top four cornerbacks on defense: Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo and Kool-Aid McKinstry.

But Carr was back from a three-game absence.

The Saints outgained the Panthers 427 yards to 246 yet still lost, 23-22 — to a team it had beaten 47-10 in Week 1.

Allen went 7-10 in his first season with the Saints and improved to 9-8 last year, narrowly missing the playoffs. Allen hoped that with a new offense, New Orleans would improve enough to make the playoffs for the first time since 2020 — which also was franchise all-time passer Drew Brees’ final NFL season.

But since its strong opening two weeks, New Orleans’ offense has largely languished and dropped to 16th in yards per game (331.4) through Sunday’s games.

Allen’s defense, meanwhile, has plummeted to 28th, allowing 376.4 yards per game.

“If you don’t feel bad, something’s probably wrong with you,” safety Tyrann Mathieu said of how he expected Saints players to process Allen’s firing.

“Defensively, we played probably the biggest role in him being fired,” Mathieu added. “The way we didn’t close out games. Tackling — that’s kind of been an issue for us all season.”

While the 52-year-old Allen remains an accomplished defensive coordinator, his prospects for getting another head coaching position appear dim at best. He is now 26-53 as an NFL coach, including his 8-28 record with the Oakland Raiders from 2012-14.

Allen thanked Saints fans for their “unwavering passion and support of the team,” saying he realized “what a privilege it is to coach a special franchise in a great city.”

Next steps

Rizzi makes his debut in a head coaching role when New Orleans hosts the NFC South-leading Atlanta Falcons. A victory would pull the Saints within three games of Atlanta (6-3) with seven more to play.

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