James Hurst retired this offseason, but he saw the separation between Dennis Allen and the New Orleans Saints locker room last year. He even went as far as to say some players wondered if Mickey Loomis would fire Allen at the end of the 2023 season.
Hurst reflects on the aftermath of players going against Allen’s wishes to kneel the ball out against the Atlanta Falcons in the season finale. Hurst was among the crew that opted to get Jamaal Williams his first touchdown of the season. He admits they were wrong but players were disappointed Allen apologized to Arthur Smith instead of having their back publicly.
“Many of the players felt he missed an opportunity there to have our backs, to defend us, even though what we did was wrong, admittedly,” Hurst relayed. Fans were upset Allen didn’t embody what they believed was Saints culture, but players were upset he hung them out to dry. Their preference was a public backing to show a unified front and being reprimanded in private.
Those emotions continued into the next day as players talked negatively among themselves. It was to the point to that when Loomis called a rare post season meeting, players thought it was to announce Allen’s departure.
Hurst capped off his statement by saying, “maybe that was the beginning of the end. That was definitely tough for the players to swallow and something surely some of the guys hadn’t quite gotten over.”
