The Dennis Allen era ended in New Orleans on Monday morning as the Saints fired their head coach after 43 games. The Saints went 18-25 under Allen, having lost their last seven games.
In the wake of the move, Nick Underhill of New Orleans Football published a story about everything that went wrong during the Allen's tenure, painting a picture of a coach in an impossible situation whose every move seemed to backfire. Even when things worked, it was just a seemingly short time until they stopped working.
Allen used a tough training camp to help the team get off to a 2-0 start with two blowout wins, but then as injuries mounted, the team stopped practicing hard during the season as the loses started to pile up. Unsurprisingly, players tired of hearing Allen say "Play Saints football" as this was all happening.
Last year, as they went 9-8 and missed the playoffs, it was another slogan that was overused.
"Behind the scenes, cracks started to show during that season. Players griped about a lack of accountability and felt that Carr was treated by a different set of standards than everyone else. The messaging had also grown tired. Allen often told the players to "Keep chopping wood," and players started to mock the phrase."
Even with the losses, it was players tiring of Allen that apprently did him in. According to Underhill, Saints owner Gayle Benson reached out to players last week, meeting with some and trading emails with others. If Allen had support in the locker room, it sounds like Benson didn't find it. "Multiple players told her that the program was failing and that changes weren't just needed but urgent."
Now the responsibility falls on Darren Rizzi to find a message that works. And then make sure no one gets sick of it.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Saints Players Tired of Dennis Allen's Message, Told Gayle Benson Changes Were Needed.
