Saints head coach Dennis Allen should be in a must-win situation in Week 9.
New Orleans (2-6), riding a six-game losing streak, has a perfect opportunity to get back into the win column this Sunday on the road against the Carolina Panthers (1-7).
If it doesn't, Allen might be better off skipping the flight back to New Orleans.
The Saints are far removed from their blistering 2-0 start when they outscored the Panthers and Cowboys by a combined score of 91-29.
Over their last six games, the Saints have been outscored 177-94, with four consecutive double-digit losses.
Injuries have hit New Orleans hard. In Week 3, it lost center Erik McCoy to a groin injury against the Eagles, and the offense fell apart immediately afterward.
Utility offensive weapon Taysom Hill missed four games, wide receiver Chris Olave missed one game due to a concussion and wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (knee) was lost for the season in Week 6.
Quarterback Derek Carr (oblique) missed the past three games but had a promising throwing session on Monday and could start against Carolina.
Regardless of who the quarterback is, a loss to the lowly Panthers would be catastrophic for Allen.
He also coached the Raiders for 36 games from 2012-14 and has a career record of 26-52.
Allen did himself no favors during a recent interview on New Orleans' WWL radio when he called out the team's young players.
"I think we have some good young players. I don't think we have any great young players, or at least we're not in that position at least yet," Allen said. (h/t Nola.Football's Nick Underhill)
That's more of an indictment of player development under Allen, who also mentioned the need to improve on "fundamentals," as though training camp and the preseason didn't happen.
When discussing penalty issues, Allen said, "It's part of the fundamentals of blocking ... We got to get our hands inside. We got to do a better job of moving our feet."
Those aren't the problems good teams have eight weeks into the season.
Allen has run the Saints into the ground, but they can drop further with a potential loss to the Panthers.
If so, it will be difficult to imagine Allen having his job for much longer.
