Saints fire third-year coach Dennis Allen after the club’s seventh straight loss, AP Source says

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The New Orleans Saints fired coach Dennis Allen on Monday, the day after a loss at last-place Carolina extended the Saints’ losing streak to seven games - its longest since 1999, a person with knowledge of the move said.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team had not yet announced the move.

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

Allen was promoted by general manager Mickey Loomis after a successful six-season tenure as New Orleans’ defensive coordinator, a period that saw his unit ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in 2020 and 2021.

While the Saints continued to field one of the better defenses in the NFL during Allen’s first two seasons as head coach, the offense has been erratic and often struggled in the late stages of close games.

This year, with new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak in charge, the offense began the season by scoring a stunning 91 points over consecutive victories in Weeks 1 and 2. Since then, however, the unit has struggled to produce while injuries to key players have mounted.

Center Erik McCoy, the Saints' most accomplished offensive lineman, was the first to go down in Week 3 and hasn't played since. Meanwhile, New Orleans has endured stints without quarterback Derek Carr, top receivers Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed and veteran 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.

But Carr was back from a three-game absence.

The Saints outgained the Panthers 427 yards to 246 yet still lost, 23-22 - to a team it had beaten 47-10 in Week 1.

Allen went 7-10 in his first season with the Saints and improved to 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 was franchise all-time passer Drew Brees' final NFL season.

But since it's strong opening two weeks, New Orleans' offense has largely languished and dropped to 16th in yards per game (331.4) through Sunday's games.

Allen's defense, meanwhile, has plummeted to 28th, allowing 376.4 yards per game.

While the 52-year-old Allen remains an accomplished defensive coordinator, his prospects for getting another head coaching position are dim at best. He is now 26-53 as an NFL coach, including his 8-28 record with the Oakland from 2012-14.