NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Saints fired coach Dennis Allen one day later on Monday. defeat at last place Carolina Extended the Saints’ losing streak to seven games; this was the longest streak since 1999.

“DA is an excellent football coach,” Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said. “We had a lot of injuries this season. He paid the price for it. The DA never made excuses. He fought for this organization and this team every day, and that’s what makes today disappointing.”

The Saints named special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi as the club’s interim coach for the final eight games of what is expected to be the fourth straight season in which New Orleans has failed to make the playoffs (2-7).

Allen is 18-25 without a playoff appearance since taking over in 2022 after Sean Payton, the most successful coach in Saints history, took a one-season retirement from coaching.

Allen was promoted by Loomis following his six-season tenure as New Orleans’ defensive coordinator; This period saw his unit finish in the top 10 in the NFL in 2020 and 2021.

“Dennis has been a part of our organization for many years,” Saints owner Gayle Benson said, referring to Allen’s first stint as a defensive assistant in New Orleans from 2006 to 2010. he said. “He was extremely loyal and professional.

“All of this makes today very difficult for me and our organization,” Benson added. “But that decision is something I think we need to make right now.”

While the Saints continued to field one of the best defenses in the NFL in Allen’s first two seasons as head coach, the offense was inconsistent and often struggled in the final stages of close games.

This year, with the appointment of new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, the offense started the season by scoring 91 points in consecutive wins in Weeks 1 and 2. But since then, the unit has struggled to produce as injuries to key players mount. .

Center Erik McCoy, the Saints’ most accomplished offensive lineman, was the first player to go down in Week 3 and hasn’t played since. New Orleans, meanwhile, has endured the absence of quarterback Derek Carr, top receivers Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed and senior guard Cesar Ruiz, among others.

New Orleans entered Sunday’s loss to the Panthers without three of its top four cornerbacks on defense: Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo and Kool-Aid McKinstry.

However, Carr returned after a three-game absence.

Even though the Saints outgained the Panthers 427 yards to 246 yards, they still lost 23-22 to the team they beat 47-10 in Week 1.

Allen went 7-10 in his first season with the Saints and went 9-8 last year, narrowly missing the playoffs. Allen hoped that with a new offense, New Orleans would improve enough to make the playoffs for the first time since 2020 — which also happened to be all-time passer Drew Brees’ final NFL season.

But since its strong opening two weeks, New Orleans’ offense has weakened greatly, falling to 16th in yards per game (331.4) through Sunday’s games.

Meanwhile, Allen’s defense dropped to 28th, allowing 376.4 yards per game.

While Allen, 52, continues to be a successful defensive coordinator, his chances of taking another head coaching position are slim at best. He is currently 26-53 as an NFL coach; This includes his 8-28 record with the Oakland Raiders from 2012-14.

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AP NFL: