Report: Saints won't dismiss head coach Dennis Allen after disappointing 2022 season

It appears as though the New Orleans Saints are running it back in 2023.

Nola.com's Jeff Duncan reported for FOX 8 WVUE the Saints are doubling down on head coach Dennis Allen, with support from both management and ownership insuring that Allen will return in this capacity after the 2022 season. Allen's team has underachieved in every phase, but general manager Mickey Loomis and team owner Gayle Benson appear to be giving him a mulligan of sorts.

The Saints have lurched to a 6-9 record under Allen, failing to win back-to-back games until Weeks 15-16. Assuming Allen finishes out the year as planned, he'll have coached four seasons in the NFL without ever achieving a winning record (granted, he was shown the door after an 0-4 start back in 2014).

Entering Week 17, Allen owned a 14-37 as a pro head coach. The Saints are lucky to have won as many games this season as they have while going 5-3 in one-score games; those are coin-flip scenarios that could easily go the other way.

The Saints empowered Allen as head coach expecting him to lead them to the playoffs. Instead, they've been one of the NFL's most penalty- and turnover-ridden teams. Duncan's report cites recent wins over the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons as reasons for optimism, but both teams were eliminated from the playoffs this weekend.

But something odd about Duncan's report is his note that firing Allen "at this point would be cost-prohibitive," given he's in the first year of his four-year contract as head coach. While Allen's specific salary is not public knowledge, most NFL head coaches earn $5 to $6 million per year, with the best of the bunch bringing in more than $10 million annually. Firing Allen and hiring his replacement wouldn't be cheap, but Benson's net worth is estimated at $3.8 billion, per Forbes.

If there is an argument in Allen's favor, it's that he has won more games this year than many coaches who were dismissed after their first year on the job. Here's the list of head coaches who were fired after one season, dating back to 2011:

• Hue Jackson, 2011 Raiders (8-8)
• Mike Mularkey, 2012 Jaguars (2-14)
• Rob Chudzinski, 2013 Browns (4-12)
• Jim Tomsula, 2015 49ers (5-11)
• Chip Kelly, 2016 49ers (2-14)
• Steve Wilks, 2018 Cardinals (3-13)
• Urban Meyer, 2021 Jaguars (2-11)
• David Culley, 2021 Texans (4-13)
• Nathaniel Hackett, 2022 Broncos (4-11)