This is an atrocious look for Dennis Allen: the New Orleans Saints head coach led his team to a blowout win over the division-rival Atlanta Falcons on Sunday to end the 2023 regular season, but he undercut himself afterwards by apologizing for all the fun his team was having. Instead of reveling in a victory of a hated nemesis, Allen was busy apologizing to his opponents and calling out his players for insubordination.
Respect is a two-way street. It has to be earned. When Jameis Winston and the Saints offensive line chose to override Allen’s directive to kneel out the clock and get their teammate his first touchdown of the year, it’s a direct reflection on the lack of respect they have for Allen — and how little he’s done to earn their respect in turn.
This is a wildly revealing moment. As former Saints tight end Benjamin Watson observed on social media, “If your players or assistant coaches don’t run the plays you call, you’ve already lost your team. If you’re comfortable enough to tell the world about it, there’s no turning back.”
Maybe Allen believes he’ll recover that lost standing in the offseason by cutting vocal players like Winston and Michael Thomas while trading Marshon Lattimore (and, maybe, Alvin Kamara). But it’s all just a delaying action. They know who he is. He’s going to get exposed next year against a tougher schedule. Other players are going to speak up and challenge him and the cycle will repeat until there isn’t anyone left. There’s a vacuum of leadership at the top of this organization.
Leave it to Dennis Allen to spoil what should have been a celebratory blowout win to usher in the offseason.
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