Saints sack Dennis Allen after humiliating loss to Panthers

If you lose to the Panthers, you pay the price.

The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen on Monday morning, a day after New Orleans' 23-22 loss to inferior Carolina.

It was the seventh straight loss for the Saints after starting the season with back-to-back wins over the Panthers and Cowboys.

NFL.com reported that special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi is expected to be named interim head coach.

The Saints offense showed incredible potential in the first two games of the season, scoring 91 points.

However, narrow losses to the Eagles and Falcons followed, and the season quickly collapsed when Derek Carr was injured in Week 5 against the Chiefs.

The Saints turned the offense over to fifth-round rookie Spencer Rattler, and New Orleans was subsequently outscored 110-45 in losses to the Bucs, Broncos and Chargers.

Carr returned for Sunday's game at Carolina and the Saints led for most of the game before Chuba Hubbard's touchdown with 2:16 left gave the Panthers the lead 7-1.

The game, which the Saints won by a touchdown, also included a scary injury to receiver Chris Olave after a hard hit on a pass over the middle.

Former Saints receiver Michael Thomas then went on a lengthy rant about X and accused Carr of putting Olave in danger.

Allen, 52, was promoted to head coach of the Saints ahead of the 2022 season following Sean Payton's temporary retirement.

He was the offensive coordinator under Payton for seven seasons.

Allen ends his tenure in New Orleans at 18-25 after his previous head coaching opportunity with the Raiders ended in similar fashion.

Allen was also fired early in his third season with the Raiders after the team started 0-4 in 2014. Overall, he had a record of 8:28 with the Raiders.

The Saints host the Falcons on Sunday.