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New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen. Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Why Week 9 should be must-win for Saints HC Dennis Allen

By Eric Smithling | Last updated Oct 29, 2024 2:13 PM ET

Saints head coach Dennis Allen should be in a must-win situation in Week 9.

New Orleans (2-6), riding a six-game losing streak, has a perfect opportunity to get back into the win column this Sunday on the road against the Carolina Panthers (1-7).

If it doesn't, Allen might be better off skipping the flight back to New Orleans.

The Saints are far removed from their blistering 2-0 start when they outscored the Panthers and Cowboys by a combined score of 91-29.

Over their last six games, the Saints have been outscored 177-94, with four consecutive double-digit losses.

Injuries have hit New Orleans hard. In Week 3, it lost center Erik McCoy to a groin injury against the Eagles, and the offense fell apart immediately afterward.

Utility offensive weapon Taysom Hill missed four games, wide receiver Chris Olave missed one game due to a concussion and wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (knee) was lost for the season in Week 6.

Quarterback Derek Carr (oblique) missed the past three games but had a promising throwing session on Monday and could start against Carolina.

Derek Carr's throwing session on Monday consisted of about 50 throws and it went well, Dennis Allen said (via @WWLAMFM).

DA: "We’ll see how he responds to that and see where he’s at on, you know, [Tuesday] and Wednesday and kind of go from there." #Saints…
— Jeff Nowak (@Jeff_Nowak) October 29, 2024

Regardless of who the quarterback is, a loss to the lowly Panthers would be catastrophic for Allen.

He also coached the Raiders for 36 games from 2012-14 and has a career record of 26-52.

Allen did himself no favors during a recent interview on New Orleans' WWL radio when he called out the team's young players.

"I think we have some good young players. I don't think we have any great young players, or at least we're not in that position at least yet," Allen said. (h/t Nola.Football's Nick Underhill)

DA on elite young players on WWL radio: "I think we have some good young players. I don't know that we have any great young players, or at least we're not in that position at least yet. I think we still got some young guys that are developing that we hope can continue to get…
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) October 29, 2024

That's more of an indictment of player development under Allen, who also mentioned the need to improve on "fundamentals," as though training camp and the preseason didn't happen.

When discussing penalty issues, Allen said, "It's part of the fundamentals of blocking ... We got to get our hands inside. We got to do a better job of moving our feet."

DA on penalties on WWL radio: "It's part of the fundamentals of blocking. We've got to do a better job of that. We got to get our hands inside. We got to do a better job of moving our feet. There's fundamental things that we have to improve on."
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) October 29, 2024

Those aren't the problems good teams have eight weeks into the season.

Allen has run the Saints into the ground, but they can drop further with a potential loss to the Panthers.

If so, it will be difficult to imagine Allen having his job for much longer.

Eric Smithling

Eric Smithling is a writer based in New Orleans, LA, whose byline also appears on Athlon Sports. He has been with Yardbarker since September 2022, primarily covering the NFL and college football, but also the NBA, WNBA, men’s and women’s college basketball, NHL, tennis and golf. He holds a film studies degree from the University of New Orleans

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