Former New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen could be landing on an opposing staff sooner rather than later.
With former Lions OC Ben Johnson landing the head coach role with the Bears, Allen is his top target for the defensive coordinator role, according to a report from ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Allen has been largely out of the public eye since he was fired by the Saints following a Week 9 loss to the Panthers that marked the final loss of a 7-game losing streak. He recently emerged as a guest on Jay Glazer's podcast, Unbreakable, and had also interviewed for a defensive coordinator vacancy with the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts announced this week they'd be hiring former Bengals DC Lou Anarumo in that role.
The Saints hired Allen to replace Sean Payton in 2022, with the longtime head coach stepping away after a 9-8 season that narrowly missed the postseason. It was Allen's direction taking over as defensive coordinator in 2015 that helped overhaul a maligned Saints defensive group into one of the best in the NFL as they had an NFL-best 49 wins and went on multiple deep playoff runs.
Allen went 7-10, 9-8 then 2-7 in his three years as the head man in New Orleans, winning his season-opener all three years and starting his last two seasons at 2-0 before mid-season collapses. His overall record with the Saints was 26-53.
The Saints are now deep in the process of finding their next head coach, with multiple interviews already set up this week, including with another Lions coordinator in Aaron Glenn. The former Saints assistant is a popular name for New Orleans, but is also set to interview with the Jets. The Saints have also scheduled interviews with Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver and Giants OC Mike Kafka, according to report, while an interview with former Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy is expected to be in the works.
The Saints have also interviewed interim HC Darren Rizzi, and have conducted virtual interviews with Bills OC Joe Brady and Eagles OC Kellen Moore, both of whom are still coaching teams in their respective conference championship games.
New Orleans will have a host of questions to answer this offseason, including the fates of several assistant coaches who at this point remain under contract, though with GM Mickey Loomis stating plainly that the next head coach would have the freedom to build their own staff. Rizzi has interviewed for the Jets head coaching vacancy, while OC Klint Kubiak has had multiple interviews with the Seahawks for their OC job.
