Dennis Allen
Head Coach — New Orleans Saints
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About Dennis Allen
Dennis Allen coached the Saints from 2022 to 2024, and his entire tenure can be summarized by the phrase he repeated at nearly every press conference: "We need to keep doing what we're doing." He said it after wins. He said it after losses. He said it after the team blew a 16-point lead. He said it when the defense gave up 400 yards. The building was on fire and Dennis Allen was standing at the podium explaining that the fire was under control and the team just needed to execute better. It became the most memeable coaching phrase in Saints history, which is saying something for a franchise that once employed Jim Haslett.
Allen was a good defensive coordinator who was promoted beyond his ceiling, and everyone except the people who promoted him seemed to know it from the start. He inherited a post-Brees, post-Payton roster and was asked to maintain the standard of a dynasty-era coaching staff with a fraction of the talent and none of the play-calling creativity. The results were predictable: competitive enough to not get fired immediately, bad enough to make every Sunday feel like watching a man slowly realize he's in over his head while insisting everything is fine.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 'keep doing what we're doing' meme?
Dennis Allen said some variation of this phrase after almost every game, regardless of outcome. The Saints would lose by 20 and Allen would say they needed to keep doing what they were doing and execute better. The team would blow a fourth-quarter lead and Allen would say the process was right, they just needed to finish. It became a running joke because the obvious response was always: what you're doing is losing. Maybe do something different. The phrase became shorthand for any authority figure who refuses to acknowledge that the plan isn't working.
Why was Dennis Allen fired?
Because the wins stopped coming and the press conferences stopped making sense. The Saints started the 2024 season with a brief hot streak that made everyone think maybe Allen had figured it out, then collapsed in spectacular fashion. The losses piled up, the locker room reportedly lost faith, and the disconnect between Allen's calm public demeanor and the team's visible dysfunction became impossible to ignore. He was fired mid-season, and the reaction from Saints fans was less anger and more relief, like finally taking off shoes that were two sizes too small.
Last updated: April 2026