Saints coaches to ride out Hurricane Francine at facility; schedule in flux

Dennis Allen wouldn't go so far as to call it a slumber party, but the plan to ride out Hurricane Francine certainly had elements of a sleepover.

Much like was the case for Hurricane Zeta back in 2020, coaches are planning to stay overnight at the team facility, with the rest of the week's schedule holding steady but with the potential for changes as the extent of the storm unfolds across South Louisiana. Francine appears to be of a similar strength to Zeta, which hit New Orleans head on and caused widespread outages.

"We want everybody to be safe and yet we felt like we could still get our work done and keep everybody safe and not have to try to go through all the logistics of what it takes to go through an evacuation," Allen said Wednesday afternoon.

The team opted to move up Wednesday's practice by about an hour, with players clearing out of the facility to be at home with their families while continuing to do prep work remotely as they prepare to face the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2. Hurricane Francine is expected to make landfall on the Louisiana coast at some point in the late afternoon or early evening.

For some players, such as veteran linebacker Demario Davis, this is just the latest in a series of bouts with extreme Gulf Coast weather. For others, like second-year QB Derek Carr, this is his first foray into that arena, though he does have some experience managing hurricane season growing up in Dallas. He said he's got the family situated and has gotten his home generator installed. Both players opened their post-practice remarks by saying their thoughts are with the safety of those battling the storm throughout Louisiana, even as their attention gets pulled onto the game they'll be playing in a few days.

"It's easy to compartmentalize because there's so much on our plate, you know, but at the same time we're playing a game," Carr said. "So, you get done and then you think about just like, our city, the families, what we're gonna have to go through, I guess this afternoon and tomorrow, whatever it is and just praying everybody is safe. There's more important things than football right now."

Allen said the decision to have coaches ride things out at the facility is more about timing than anything else. Game prep still has to happen, and rather than treat things like a short week, the coaches will continue that process as they normally would on Wednesday. That would end for the day right at the peak of the storm, and it'll be safer to keep everyone in place. Coaches will find places to sleep, and any missed meeting time will likely be made up on Thursday with what's expected to be a later start to practice.

The Saints will fly out to Dallas on Saturday.