The NFL landscape today has been tough on coaches. Just two weeks out of the regular season, there have been 10 head coach openings. This offseason has shown teams are less likely to settle for anything but the best, with moves such as the departure of John Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens to the Buffalo Bills’ firing of Sean McDermott.
The New Orleans Saints had to make a head coaching change themselves after their 2-7 start in 2024. As the season ended, the Saints began their head coaching search, and ultimately chose Kellen Moore after a Superbowl winning performance with the Philadelphia Eagles. Before Moore, the Saints were under long-time defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. While Allen wasn’t able to find success in New Orleans as a head coach, he remained a respected defensive playcaller and quickly found a job with the Chicago Bears.
The firing was expected as tension grew in New Orleans and fans began to show less patience. While it ultimately came down to being the right move, the firing of a head coach, especially midseason, has plenty of ramifications that follow. Star defensive back Tyrann Mathieu, who retired before the start of the 2025 season, opened up on his podcast “In the Bayou,” about the Dennis Allen departure and how it affected the locker room. “I didn’t just play for myself or for my family. I played for my coaches and teammates too,” Mathieu said. “I remember I felt so bad for that. Because when a coach gets fired, as a player, you’re somewhat responsible for that. You didn’t make enough plays, maybe you didn’t play hard enough, and obviously, you didn’t win enough.
Advertisement
Mathieu then mentions how he approached the team after hearing the news, “I remember standing in front of the team, the defense, and I was like ‘man, if y’all don’t feel bad about this, we’re not in the right room.’ If you don’t feel like you just got fired too… you messed up in the head.”
Allen’s firing was the first time in Mathieu’s career that he was a part of a head coaching change. The superstar safety opened up about his sympathies for the former Saints head coach, saying, “It really affected me. I was like, ‘man, we just got this man fired.’”
The Saints look as if they are on the right track with Kellen Moore. After a wacky start to the year, the black and gold have found their identity and are looking to begin competing as soon as 2026. Despite the current projections, however, the reality of the NFL always shapes a locker room, and the rebuilding that has to be done after the significance of the departure of a head coach in the middle of the season could have a massive tole on the players.
