Loomis made a mistake with Allen, no doubt.
The heart of that mistake was his failure to realize that Payton was the “culture”.
So without Payton - the “culture” eroded and what remained was not enough to carry the team out of mediocrity.
I don’t think Allen is a bad coach - but he’s not suited to carry on the culture of someone who is his polar opposite in both personality and coaching style. It was Loomis’ job to acknowledge that and he failed to do so.
Now the Saints are “rebuilding”, essentially and again, we have a coach who is not suited for this task because he’s been in the building too long for the players to respond to a new way.
It’s frustrating.