The Indianapolis Colts will reportedly be meeting with former New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen for their defensive coordinator role, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Fowler would add that Allen is expected to be a “prime candidate” for other opportunities after the success he had with the New Orleans defense.
Allen is now the fourth reported interview for the Colts’ defensive coordinator opening.
Most recently, Allen was the head coach of the Saints from 2022-2024. His record during those three seasons was 18-25, peaking with a 9-8 season in 2023. Allen was then fired after Week 9 of this season.
However, while overall the Saints couldn’t hit their stride, Allen’s defenses were among the stingiest in the NFL. During the 2022 season, the Saints ranked ninth in points per game allowed and were fifth in yards.
Then in 2023, New Orleans ranked sixth in points and 13th in total yards surrendered.
One of the hallmarks of Allen’s defenses are versatility. As noted in a recent article, Allen doesn’t necessarily use a variety of formations, but he does ask his defenders to fill a number of different responsibilities within those formations to keep opposing offenses off-balanced and guessing.
