
REUTERS/Beck Diefenbach
By Ross Jackson
If you thought that Dennis Allen’s 18-25 three-year stint with the New Orleans Saints was disappointing, color yourself lucky to not be a Las Vegas Raiders fan, says CBS Sports’s list of the league’s worst head coaching hires of the century.
Sports writer Cody Benjamin ranked the 25 worst coaching hires, placing Dennis Allen at No. 16, not for his time with the Saints, but for his 8-28 record as head coach of the Raiders.
Allen’s talent as a brilliant defensive mind has positioned him right back in the NFL immediately despite the two disheartening head coaching opportunities. He’s back in the league without hesitation now as the defensive coordinator of then Chicago Bears, leading up the defense for the new staff in the Windy City.
Before he became the first Saints head coach ousted during the regular season in two decades, he was carrying the league’s lowest winning percentage among active coaches. A lot of that hole was dug with the Raiders.
Allen’s appointment as the Saints’ head coach was one that made sense at the time. The team was desperately trying to hold on to continuity after ex-coach Sean Payton stepped away after the 2021 season. The logic was there, so not seeing Allen’s Saints hire listed does make sense. The decision to retain him for as long as the team did ended up being the worst decision, but not the hire itself. That is, until owner Gayle Benson reportedly stepped in.
But now that’s all over. The Saints have officially turned the page on Allen’s tenure having moved on from both him and his hand-picked quarterback Derek Carr, who surprisingly retired as rookie minicamps began.
