Sean Payton is retiring after a 15-year run as New Orleans Saints head coach, leaving an enormous void to fill on top of the organizational chart. And while the Saints should be tempted to slot defensive coordinator Dennis Allen — someone who has been a head coach before, and whose defense has become the strength of the team in recent years.
But the Saints can’t be complacent and just elevate someone already on staff. They owe it to themselves and their fans to conduct a thorough search and hire the best available candidate.
To be frank, it sucks that they’re so late in the game to begin interviewing candidates. There are openings in half a dozen other NFL cities and the Saints have a lot of catching up to do in lining up interviews. At the same time, it’s obviously a decision Payton didn’t take lightly. He spent weeks grappling with it before choosing to step away.
So what comes next? Maybe the Saints survey the field and meet with everyone they’d like to and decide Allen is the right guy for the job. That might be right. But we’ll just have to wait and see how it all plays out. The only certainty I have is that they shouldn’t anoint Allen or anyone else in New Orleans right away.
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