For the First Time in a Long Time, the Saints Have Fired Their Head Coach Mid-Season

The New Orleans Saints have reportedly fired Head Coach Dennis Allen after losing to the lowly Panthers yesterday afternoon. While the Saints under Allen have been the pinnacle of mediocrity, the move still is pretty shocking as it's the first time the Saints have fired a head coach mid-season since the 80s. However, despite the initial shock, fans have been calling for Allen's job for pretty much his entire run in New Orleans.

Allen, who has shown he can be a really good defensive coordinator, never has found much success under the Head Coach's headset. In 2 1/2 years as the Raiders head coach, he went 8-28. During the same duration in New Orleans, he went 18-25 - which is an improvement but it's hard to keep a job when you're only winning 42% of your games.

The decision to fire Dennis Allen was relatively easy. Now comes the hard part - where do the Saints go from here?

What's Next for the New Orleans Saints?

In the short term, the Saints have named Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi as interim head coach. Rizzi has been on the Saints staff since 2019. He also had a run with the Dolphins as their ST Coordinator from 2010-2018. So, he's got some NFL experience, including working with successful coaches like Brian Flores and Dan Campbell.

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Based on some of the Social Media posts made by Saints players and their on-field performance, it's clear that something was broken and needed to change. Can Rizzi be the spark plug that rights the ship? It's possible. We've seen situations where interim coaches step up and reinvigorate a team. You can look at the Raiders last season - they move on Josh McDaniels, promote Antonio Pierce and had a strong finish to the season.

But, there's a cautionary tale there as well. Pierce was a GREAT interim coach. But, since removing the interim tag and naming him the head coach, the Raiders seem to have regressed. Unless something changes, it appears that he was a great spark plug during a trying time but may not be the man for the job long term.

Regardless of how the team performs under Rizzi, they should do an extensive search for their next head coach. Maybe he's the guy, maybe he's not. But there's plenty of great candidates available. And they'll more than likely end up with a high draft pick, which could help a rapidly aging roster.

Who Could Be The Next Head Coach in New Orleans?

As mentioned above, short term, Darren Rizzi will serve as interim head coach. Maybe he's the answer to all their problems, maybe he's not. But there's plenty of great coaching options available.

Mike Vrabel, former Titans Head Coach, is just waiting for another opportunity. He showed with the Titans he could win ball games with very little talent. Which, due to some salary cap concerns, maybe exactly what the Saints need - someone that squeeze the most out of every player on the roster.

Ben Johnson, Offensive Coordinator for the Lions, has been a top pick for a head coaching job for a while now. He's completely rebuilt the Lions offense and turned them into a juggernaut. Eventually, he's going to take a Head Coaching job. New Orleans, with some of their offensive talent, could be a good fit.

Pete Carroll, former Seahawks Head Coach, maybe older but he's still got a great football mind. Even with a less than fantastic roster, Pete made the Seahawks a playoff threat every year. The guy just knows how to win. He's 72, so he's probably not the long term solution but could be a great option for a few years while the Saints reset and look to the future.

And that's just three options off the top of my head, but there's plenty of other guys on the market. Byron Leftwich, Bobby Slowik, Shane Waldron, Brian Flores and Bill Belichick - just to name a few. The Saints interviewed Leftwich and Flores during their initial search before hiring Dennis Allen, they maybe at the top of the list in New Orleans this go-around as well.