Dennis Allen released a statement via Saints social media about his recent firing.
The New Orleans Saints have had an awful first half of the 2024 NFL season. New Orleans is 2-7 and on a seven-game losing streak heading into Week 10, highlighted by a loss to a lowly Carolina Panthers team on Sunday. This caused Saints leadership to fire head coach Dennis Allen on Monday.
Allen released a statement via the Saints social media on Monday about his recent firing.
“I want to take this opportunity to first and foremost thank Gayle Benson for the opportunity to be the head coach of the New Orleans Saints,” Allen wrote in a statement. “The organization will always be near and dear to my heart, and I am disappointed the results weren't better. I also want to thank Mickey Loomis for the support he and his staff provided throughout the entire time I was with the organization.”
Allen spent some time in his statement thanking various groups of people who have helped him along the way. First was his coaching staff.
“I am proud to have worked alongside some great coaches, both as an assistant and during my time as the head coach,” Allen wrote. “To those men, I am sincerely grateful for the time and effort they put into their jobs. I am also grateful for the entire staff that worked hard to provide the support and will miss our daily interactions.”
Allen also thanked every player on the team, as well as Saints fans everywhere and residents of New Orleans for their unwavering support.
“I wish everyone with the Saints the best of luck and success going forward,” Allen concluded.
Will the Saints become sellers at NFL trade deadline after firing Dennis Allen?
Now that Dennis Allen is out, the next question is whether or not the Saints will become sellers ahead of the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday.
The Saints were already rumored to be open to listening to offers on CB Marshon Lattimore, assuming they lost on Sunday against the Panthers. Lattimore is the perfect trade piece to sell as a rebuilding team. He is 28 years old and a four-time Pro Bowler.
Lattimore currently has a large $14.62 million cap hit in 2024, and his contract features a potential out in 2025. This is good because it makes it easier to trade right now for the rest of the season. A team like Kansas City could scoop him up for a playoff run and then cut him during the offseason. Otherwise, they'd be stuck with his massive $31.41 million cap hit in 2025.
However, Saints GM Mickey Loomis has also been open about how he does not like trading at the deadline.
“I'm not really one that thinks trading away half your roster makes a lot of sense at this point generally for what I think are undervalued offers,” Loomis said, per Nick Underhill.
Perhaps Loomis will have changed his mind about making a deadline trade now that Dennis Allen is fired.
Regardless of what they do at the deadline, it will be interesting to see how the Saints approach rebuilding their team in the offseason.
