That’s not entirely surprising, but it’s still hard to believe. Nola.com’s Jeff Duncan reported for FOX 8 WVUE that the New Orleans Saints are doubling down on head coach Dennis Allen, with support from both management and ownership insuring that Allen will return in this capacity after the 2022 season. Allen’s team has underachieved in every phase, but general manager Mickey Loomis and team owner Gayle Benson appear to be giving him a mulligan.
It’s hard to view this decision as anything but a mistake. The Saints have lurched to a 6-9 record under Allen, failing to win back-to-back games until Weeks 15 and 16. Assuming Allen finishes out the year as planned, he’ll have coached four seasons in the NFL without ever achieving a winning record (granted, he was shown the door after an 0-4 start back in 2014). Right now he’s 14-37 as a pro head coach. The Saints are lucky to have won as many games this season as they have while going 5-3 in one-score games; those are coin-flip scenarios that could easily go the other way. Lucky teams win more one-score games than they lose. Good teams avoid them in the first place.
