That’s what we’re going to discover. Following his first winning season as head coach in five years, the Saints extended Dennis Allen’s contract to a third year. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers, who were saddled with over $81 million in dead money following Tom Brady’s retirement, can be happy with Todd Bowles’ guidance after he not only helped them qualify for the playoffs but also won a postseason game.
Between his three years in Tampa Bay from 2009 to 2011 and his 11-game time as the Falcons’ interim coach in 2020, Morris, a former head coach of the Bucs himself, is 21-38. Though not significantly, his lifetime victory % (.356) is higher than Allen’s (.343).
Canales is the erratic player. The Panthers are placing a wager that Russell Wilson’s former quarterbacks coach with the Seattle Seahawks, who worked wonders with Baker Mayfield in 2023, can also heal Bryce Young’s ailments. Being the only rookie head coach among the group, he may have the hardest task ahead of him leading a team that just finished with a 2-15 record—the worst Carolina has had since NFL reorganization in 2002.
Who will win in this situation? To earn the confidence the Saints leadership has placed in him, Allen needs to defeat his opponents (and, yes, keep in mind that they are opponents and not feel bad about occasionally pushing the score higher) and produce a huge victory. Thus yet, he has not provided any results. Satisfying his detractors would need him to hire an offensive coordinator of the highest caliber and return the Saints to the postseason. It’s difficult to see a situation in which he can win the NFC South if he can’t win it under these conditions.
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