Dennis Allen had nothing to do with Bountygate, a sordid chapter in Saints history in which the NFL determined that New Orleans coaches incentivized players for trying to hurt their opponents.
But this is not a good look coming from a Saints head coach, or any head coach, for that matter.
Allen, who joined the franchise as defensive coordinator in 2015, years after the dust settled on the Bountygate scandal, was asked Monday about a blatant takedown by New Orleans defensive lineman Nathan Shepherd of quarterback Los Angeles Chargers outfielder Justin Herbert on Sunday.
Here’s what Allen said when asked about criticism that Shepherd tried to intentionally hurt Herbert in the play.
“I think it’s not accurate.” Allen said. “Here’s a guy who’s trying to wrap up the quarterback. He’s on the ground. He has no idea if the quarterback has the ball or not. He’s just trying to tackle the quarterback.
“There was nothing malicious about that play. This is a guy trying to make a play. I went back and looked at that play again after seeing the comments, and I don’t agree with it.”
In case you missed it, here’s the play in question from the Chargers’ 26-8 win on Sunday.
Herbert threw a screen pass to running back JK Dobbins during the second quarter. When Herbert released the ball, Shepherd dove down and wrapped around Herbert’s right ankle. He maintained his grip on Herbert’s lower leg long after Herbert released the ball, then twisted his knee and dragged him to the ground.
After Herbert was already on the ground, Shepherd turned around and continued twisting Herbert’s knee with his own body weight. At that moment, Chargers center Bradley Bozeman lunged at Shepherd to free him from Herbert.
Herbert, who finished the game, was fortunate to have avoided a season-ending injury on the play.
Herbert’s initial drop below the knee was reckless, if not malicious. Allen downplayed the action from there as Herbert stood tall as Shepherd’s ignorance that Herbert had fumbled the ball, regardless of Herbert’s dangerous knee twist, regardless of his status as ball carrier.
Allen apparently missed the part where Shepherd continued to twist Herbert’s knee after he tackled him to the ground.
The officials did not miss it. They assessed Shepherd with an unnecessary roughness penalty for the play. But they were not thrown out of the game. And they overturned the penalty by imposing an unnecessary roughness penalty on Bozeman for protecting their quarterback.
Then on Monday, Allen defended the play.
There are times in the NFL when a head coach stands by his players. There are also moments that demand public responsibility.