Saints GM gaslights entire fanbase by retaining Dennis Allen as head coach

The New Orleans Saints have struggled since quarterback Drew Brees retired following the 2020 NFL season.

After their latest disappointing campaign, the Saints fired offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael, one of the few remaining vestiges of the 2009 Super Bowl championship team. Yet, the team decided to retain the services of head coach Dennis Allen.

Allen led the franchise to a 16-18 record while missing the postseason for two consecutive seasons — a far cry from the success New Orleans had with head coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees. In the past three seasons, the Saints quarterback carousel has included Jameis Winston, Andy Dalton, Derek Carr and Taysom Hill. None of them were able to provide any consistency or stability to the offense.

Saints executive vice president and general manager Mickey Loomis defended his decision to stick with the embattled head coach during his annual end-of-season press conference.

Saints general manager compares Dennis Allen to Hall of Fame coaches

"Look, I was prepared for this question," Loomis said, as he pulled out a piece of paper. "Chuck Noll, his first three years. Hall of Fame coach. He was 1-13, 5-9, 6-8. But they recognized that this guy’s a good football coach, right? Bill Belichick — here’s his first three seasons: 6-10, 7-9, 7-9. Tom Landry: 0-11, 4-9, 5-8, 4-10, 5-8. Hall of Fame coaches, all of them. Bill Walsh, first year, 2-14. Second year, 6-10. I think the easy thing to do is just look at the results and say ‘Oh, no. We gotta have a change.’ You gotta look beyond that. ... It’s the players, it’s the coaches, it’s me, it’s our personnel staff, our roster. It’s variables, sometimes we don’t have any control of."

In some ways, what Loomis is saying makes sense. Even the greatest coaches struggle, building a winning culture takes time, and sometimes, outside variables affect teams in ways that aren't reflected in the record.

Yet, in many ways, what Loomis said doesn't make any sense at all. Comparing Allen to Chuck Noll, Bill Belichick, Tom Landry and Bill Walsh is not only disrespectful, but it's also misleading.

Allen is not still in his first three seasons as a head coach. He led the Raiders for three seasons, where he compiled a 4-28 record before getting fired. In five seasons as an NFL head coach, Allen led his teams to a 24-46 record, the lowest win percentage of any active head coach in the league.

Bill Belichick didn't have the luxury of taking over a stable franchise during his first three seasons as a head coach. Prior to hiring Belichick in 1991, the Cleveland Browns bottomed-out with a 3-13 record. The franchise was dealing with instability at the ownership level as well, with Art Modell looking to relocate the team to Baltimore following the 1994 season.

Considering those variables, as Loomis called them, Belichick's improvement from a six-win team to an 11-win team in four years was an impressive feat. Bill Belichick surpassed Allen's win total in his fourth season as head coach, and also led his team to the postseason — something Allen has failed to do. Also, Belichick had already won two Super Bowl championships as a defensive coordinator. His defensive game plan from Super Bowl XXV was already in the NFL Hall of Fame.

Chuck Noll, like Belichick, took over a bottom-feeder team. The Pittsburgh Steelers had just one postseason appearance in the 36 seasons before Noll became their head coach. He turned them into a perennial contender. Landry is credited for inventing the 4-3 defense, which has been one of the base defensive personnels in the NFL. Bill Walsh revolutionized the West Coast offense.

Should Allen be given more time to instill his culture in New Orleans? Perhaps. After all, replacing a Hall of Fame quarterback is never easy. Still, there's no reason to mislead fans by comparing Allen's coaching career to those of Noll, Belichick, Landry, or Walsh.