Dennis Allen pours his heart out about abrupt in-season Saints firing as he reveals why Gayle Benson took the decision

Dennis Allen pours his heart out about abrupt in-season Saints firing as he reveals why Gayle Benson took the decision

The New Orleans Saints were one of the most disappointing teams in the NFL throughout the 2024 season.

New Orleans finished the regular season with a record of 5-12 at the bottom of the NFC South division standings.

Now the Saints are on the hunt for a new head coach after firing Dennis Allen in the middle of the season.

Former Saints head coach Dennis Allen told Jay Glazer about his in-season firing on a recent podcast episode.

Allen told Glazer that GM Mickey Loomis “came into his office, closed the door and said let’s talk,” on the Monday after the Panthers loss, per ESPN’s Katherine Terrell.

He said Loomis “was not really in favor of this move.” Allen then met with the coaches at 10AM to tell them he was fired.

Allen described how difficult it was to meet with his assistant coaches and give them the news.

He knew that he would be fine, thanks to his money and connections. However, Allen knew that being fired can be a huge setback for younger assistant coaches.

Allen spent a good portion of the podcast episode talking about the emotional toll the firing took on him.

He described that he never got to address his players in person, citing that news travels so quickly today. Allen later said his goodbyes to players on phone calls or text messages.

“As a prideful man, I didn’t want to be walking out of the parking lot with 1,000 cameras on me,” Allen said per Terrell.

Allen also spoke about the grieving process of not being able to be in the locker room with his team anymore.

Allen’s honest conversation about the experience makes it easy to empathize with NFL coaches who loss their jobs at any point in the season