Dennis Allen recently reflected with Jay Glazer on his firing from New Orleans. One of the sentiments he expressed was feeling worse for his younger staff members than himself, because Allen has connections around the league to where he was confident he would land on his feet.
Proof of that statement is already coming to light. The Indianapolis Colts are interviewing plan to speak with Allen for their vacant defensive coordinator position, as first reported by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. A subsequent report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport confirmed Allen will meet with the Colts this Friday.
In addition to the Colts, Fowler said “Allen is expected to be a prime candidate for other opportunities due to his work with New Orleans’ defense over the years.” Rapoport expressed the same sentiment.
The New Orleans Saints became a dominant defense during Allen’s tenure as the defensive coordinator. They were top-15 in points allowed from 2017-2020, top-10 in three of those seasons. Allen put together back to back seasons in the top-10 of yards allowed.
Things began to decline shortly after he ascended to head coach and got really bad this season. New Orleans began allowing more yards and then finally dropped out of the top-10 points allowed this past season.
That could be a sign of players departing, players getting older, or possibly it means he needs to simply focus on the defense. When he did that, the defense was strong.
