History has repeated itself: Dennis Allen has been fired once again from the head coach’s position with Derek Carr as his quarterback. Not long ago, Allen’s job was taken away when he was with the LA Raiders. Though many fans are celebrating the news, Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu has expressed disappointment with the decision.
Advertisement
The Saints lost their last game against the Panthers despite a 22-17 lead due to missed passes. Even though the team has failed as a unit, Coach Allen has taken the main hit and Mathieu couldn’t help but voice his discontent about the same. During the press conference, he said,
” Disappointing, heartbreaking. It’s the first team I have been on you know basically got the coach fired. Very very disappointed.”
While many learned about the coach’s firing through social media, Tyrann Mathieu heard it directly from the source. Coach Allen texted Tyrann and the other players, apologizing for how things unfolded.
While hiring defensive coordinators as head coaches can be a gamble, the Saints took that risk in 2022, elevating Allen—a former Raiders head coach and longtime member of the Saints’ staff since 2014.
However, after two and a half seasons and 25 losses, including a seven-game losing streak this season, the Saints decided to course-correct by letting him go mid-season. Interestingly, this isn’t the first mid-season HC dismissal of the year. Earlier, the Jets also parted ways with Robert Saleh after a couple of disappointing games.
Meanwhile, Saints players took accountability for getting their HC fired, stating that everyone in the building had a part in that 2-7 record.
Saints need to re-build after Dennis Allen’s firing
Tyrann Mathieu voiced that the team’s 2-7 record, which ultimately led to Allen’s firing, is their own doing. However, he also claimed that this is the opportunity to grow stronger and become a more cohesive unit.
” I think we kind of dug ourselves in a hole. The message is to fill it back up. It’s going to take people that’s in the room you know from management to staff to players. I think collectively we have to be on the same page and quite frankly we all played a part in him not being here.”
In Dennis’ absence, interim coach, Darren Rizzi, Saints’ assistant head coach/special teams coordinator since 2022, will take charge.
Since 1980, when the team lost its first 14 games, the New Orleans Saints haven’t lost eight straight games. This season, they have lost 7 already. Next, they take on the 6-3 Atlanta Falcons on Sunday at home. Fans would expect a better fight from the team that has clearly underperformed till this point.
