METAIRIE, La. -- The New Orleans Saints are keeping an eye on the path of Tropical Storm Francine, which is expected to intensify into a hurricane by Monday night or Tuesday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center .
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry recently issued a state of emergency ahead of the storm's landfall. It is expected to make landfall on the southwest coast of Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane on Wednesday. New Orleans public schools will be closed Wednesday and Thursday.
Saints coach Dennis Allen said the team is monitoring the storm "like everybody else in the city" and told WWL Radio on Monday night that he planned to have a Zoom meeting regarding the hurricane with the team on Tuesday, which is the players' day off.
Allen said he did not think this would be a hurricane that required an evacuation, but he said the Saints' schedule might have to be altered Wednesday or Thursday depending on what happens with the storm.
He added that the plan right now is to practice at the Saints' facility on those days as the team prepares to play the Cowboys in Texas on Sunday.
"I think we're going to meet again this afternoon and see what kind of plans we need to make and then we'll kind of go from there," Allen said on Monday afternoon. "I think we probably do this better than anybody else in the National Football League, so we'll figure it out."
On Monday, it was business as usual for the Saints.
Saints rookie wide receiver Mason Tipton , who is from Ohio and went to Yale, said he didn't know about the potential hurricane until Monday morning.
"I'm sure I'll get a text from my mom to say 'Hey, make sure you're looking out for the weather,' but I heard about it this morning so we'll see how that goes," he said.
The Saints have had to make contingency plans multiple times because of weather issues. Allen, who first joined the Saints in 2006 before leaving for the 2011-2014 seasons, has been around for several of them.
The Saints cancelled their preseason finale in 2021 and moved training camp to the Dallas/Fort Worth area for several weeks because of Hurricane Ida. Ida made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on Aug. 29, 2021, the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall in Louisiana.
The Saints practiced at AT&T Stadium for several days before moving camp to the facilities at Texas Christian University. They also moved their season opener against the Green Bay Packers to Jacksonville, Florida, and did not have a home game until Week 4 that season.
In 2020, the Saints coaches worked at their facility in Metairie under generator power for several days after Hurricane Zeta, which made landfall in Louisiana on Oct. 28, moved directly over New Orleans and knocked out power to the Saints' facility and the surrounding area.
The Saints also spent a week in Indianapolis in 2008 ahead of Hurricane Gustav's landfall before their home opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In 2012, they practiced in Cincinnati for a few days ahead of their preseason finale against the Tennessee Titans in Nashville because of Hurricane Isaac. In 2013, they left a day early for a game against the Chicago Bears to avoid any problems from Tropical Storm Karen.
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