Remember Dennis Allen? The young assistant who was given the dead end job of coaching the Raiders during a complete dismantling under Reggie McKenzie? Well, eight years since his firing from the Raiders, he’s getting another shot at the head coaching job with the Saints.
Saints have informed their defensive coordinator Dennis Allen that they are hiring him as their next head coach, sources tell ESPN.
Once again Allen replaces Sean Payton, minus the interim title.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 7, 2022
When Allen was hired as the Raiders head coach, he was just 39 years of age and had been a defensive coordinator for all of one season in Denver.
In his Raiders’ tenure, he went 8-28, while his GM cut all the team’s best players and signed cheap fill-ins due to the dead money left behind that hamstrung the Raiders.
Probably Allen’s best moment with the Raiders was being the head coach during the 2014 draft that yielded the likes of DE Khalil Mack, QB Derek Carr, G Gabe Jackson, DT Tommy Kelly, CB TJ Carrie, and DE Shelby Harris.
The Raiders began the 2014 season 0-4 following a loss in London and Allen was fired by the time to team plane landed back to the states. The team would go 0-10 that season before notching their first win and finish 3-13.
Allen quickly caught on with the Saints the following season as a defensive assistant, and midway through his first season was named the interim defensive coordinator. A position he has held ever since.
This offseason longtime Saints head coach Sean Payton retired, leaving the Saints with a vacancy. And now they have filled it from the inside with Allen’s promotion.
