Or....if we're lucky we start slow and the Saints fire DA midseason. KK steps in and becomes the next future HOF coach.

Both Mike Ditka and Jim Haslett were let go after 3-13 seasons. Loomis was around for both of these I believe. Why would you think that all of a sudden that the brass would fire Allen mid-season?

I really wonder exactly what Allen has done to hurt so many people and garner this level of hate when the absolute worst that can be said about his tenure at 17-17 with the Saints is that he's mediocre at worst?

SFIAH

Both Mike Ditka and Jim Haslett were let go after 3-13 seasons. Loomis was around for both of these I believe. Why would you think that all of a sudden that the brass would fire Allen mid-season?

I really wonder exactly what Allen has done to hurt so many people and garner this level of hate when the absolute worst that can be said about his tenure at 17-17 with the Saints is that he's mediocre at worst?

SFIAH

As a noted philosopher once expounded, "Haters gonna hate."

Without really checking, Klint's previous stop in Santa Clara? He wasn't OC there, of course. And why he was considered and hired here. We'll see how things go in the beginning.

All very unlikely. Allen's retiring at some point in the future is the best probability with someone within the staff taking over ... after the Rooney Rule requirements are met, of course.

Barring some tragedy befalling Dennis Allen, I don't see any scenario where Kubiak replaces Allen during the season as was suggested earlier. That is what I was addressing. I doubt any of us would want anything bad to happen to DA or someone close to him. Er, maybe that sinner guy. haters gonna hate.

Both Mike Ditka and Jim Haslett were let go after 3-13 seasons. Loomis was around for both of these I believe. Why would you think that all of a sudden that the brass would fire Allen mid-season?

I really wonder exactly what Allen has done to hurt so many people and garner this level of hate when the absolute worst that can be said about his tenure at 17-17 with the Saints is that he's mediocre at worst?

SFIAH

I guess I am thinking people change when 20-30 years pass or they are different people altogether. With Ditka, decisions would have been made by Tom Benson who is dead now and others who are gone now. It was complicated by Ditka being a hall of fame legend coach and player with a previous super bowl win, whose firing in season might have been seen across the league as highly disrespectful and prevented the Saints from hiring other top candidates.

With Haslett it would have been Tom Benson and Mickey Loomis deciding, not sure what Lauscha's role was in 2005-2006 so maybe him also, and also Katrina was a factor that might have made an in-season firing much different. Firing your coach in season after your team relocated in season to multiple other cities due to an unprecedented natural disaster could have been seen as cruel.

Now the decisions would be made by Gayle, a 20 years older Loomis, and Lauscha, without the complication of a hurricane relocated season or a hall of fame coach. It would be firing a perceived mediocre to poor head coach during his third season with the team who had never been to the playoffs and was also fired during his 3rd season with his previous team. I don't see why the Saints would be way less likely to make a change in season than the average NFL team, given that the previous precedents are so far in the past with such different circumstances. DA ain't a legend like Ditka, and he can't blame a storm like Katrina, he is just a random ok DC who was lucky to get a 2nd chance as head coach and has done nothing great so far.

Dennis Allen's defenses with the Raiders ranked 28, 29, and 32 in the league. I don't see it as very unlikely that Dennis Allen could post a bad defense if things go wrong, he has done so the majority of his seasons as a head coach. With the Saints, he benefitted from a culture led by Sean Payton and managed to assemble a strong veteran defensive core. As that core ages out and the culture of Sean Payton fades, nobody knows if the Saints defense will remain strong or not. Certainly throughout the league there is a long history of many respected defensive coordinators and defensive minded head coaches whose defenses have been very strong some years but also have had off years as well.

Allen had bad defenses with the Raiders because his talent pool sucked. He had no say on the roster with Al Davis having just died the previous season and Mark Davis making all the calls.