(Photo Courtesy of AP Photo/Derick Hingle)
The New Orleans Saints officially announced Dennis Allen as the team’s new head coach Tuesday, Feb. 8.
Allen served as the team’s defensive coordinator since 2015 under former head coach Sean Payton. Following Payton’s retirement, Allen becomes the 11th head coach in Saints history.
Allen and Payton are closely tied together as Allen served under Payton for 12 of the 16 seasons in New Orleans as a defensive assistant.
When asked what it is like to be compared to his former boss, Allen said, “I think I’m at peace with that. Look, I understand what the expectations are here, but those are the expectations in our league. And I look at it as a great example to follow.”
This is Allen’s second stint as a head coach after he had an unsuccessful three-season tenure in Oakland with the Raiders.
Allen’s Raiders finished 4-12 in each of his first two seasons as coach, and Allen was fired after an 0-4 start to the 2014 season. Allen rejoined the Saints in 2015 and took over as defensive coordinator later that season.
“Seeing how Sean operates, and so I’ve just seen a lot more, I’ve just been through a lot more, experienced a lot more, been through a lot of winning since that time,” Allen said.
Prior to becoming the Raiders’ head coach, Allen was defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos in 2011. Prior to that, he spent 2002-2005 in Atlanta as a defensive assistant before joining Payton and the Saints in 2006 as assistant defensive line coach.
He was promoted to secondary coach in 2008, and his group was pivotal in the Saints’ Super Bowl XLIV victory.
The Saints had a lengthy coaching search, including a nearly-eight-hour interview with Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy.
Ultimately, the Saints landed on the candidate who was there the whole time and was the frontrunner in the public’s eyes.
“We selected [Allen] because of his leadership skills, his teaching skills, his football acumen and frankly because he’s a good football coach,” Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said. “We interviewed him for six hours last week, but the truth is that we’ve been interviewing him for 12 of the last 16 years… He’s been instrumental in the success we’ve had over the last 16 years.”
Allen is no stranger to head coaching duties in New Orleans as he served as the interim head coach in Week 15 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers due to Payton contracting COVID-19.
The Saints shut out the Buccaneers 9-0 in Tampa Bay’s only home loss of the season. Allen called defensive plays in that game and stated he plans to continue to call plays for the defense while head coach.
The mystery remains on how he will assemble his staff, but he has familiarity with the current staff in place.
The most important decisions he will have to make regards the offensive coaching staff as Payton called offensive plays and was heavily involved in the game plan.
According to Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune, Allen is expected to hire an external candidate as offensive coordinator with current offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. taking a different role.
“Our team is going to be tough. Our team is going to be smart and our team is going to be highly competitive. We are going to play with a passion and an energy that our opponents are unwilling or unable to match,” Allen said.
Allen’s Saints could look different in 2022 as many players are free agents or salary cap casualties. One thing is for certain- it is Dennis Allen’s team now.
