Tag: Dennis Allen

6 Saints coaches, staffers who should get buzz in the NFL’s next hiring cycle

The Saints could lose important members of the organization when the 2021 NFL hiring cycle kicks off, from Terry Fontenot to Dennis Allen.

Could this be the year the New Orleans Saints start to lose personnel to rival teams? With coaching staffs and front offices around the league already preparing for turnover in the offseason, it seems likely. Somehow half a dozen teams interviewed Saints assistants last year without hiring any of them away. Expect that to change as new opportunities present themselves to the people working behind the scenes in New Orleans that are hungry for more high-profile jobs in the NFL.

Others, like offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr., haven’t shown as keen an interest; his interview for the Packers job last offseason was just the third time he’s seriously considered an opportunity with another team in 12 years with the Saints, having interviewed for head coaching positions with the Raiders and Bears in 2012 and 2013, respectively. It’s possible he puts his name out there again in 2021, but there appear to be other, more ambitious candidates in New Orleans. Here are six names we’ll be watching closely:

Ex-Saints linebackers coach Mike Nolan struggling to install Cowboys defense

Mike Nolan was a stellar assistant coach for the New Orleans Saints linebackers, but he hasn’t found his footing with the Dallas Cowboys.

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When the Dallas Cowboys hired Mike McCarthy as their head coach earlier this year, he was quick to handpick his new defensive coordinator: Mike Nolan, the New Orleans Saints linebackers coach the last three years. Nolan and McCarthy worked together with the San Francisco 49ers back in 2005, so they clearly had a history together, and expected swift results in Dallas.

But the early returns have been disappointing. Nolan has preached the need for schematic variety ever since he took the job, stressing the importance of finding a balance between man and zone coverage. So far, his Cowboys defense hasn’t executed anything very well. Our colleague Doug Farrar broke it down over at Touchdown Wire, writing:

Variety has not been the spice of the Cowboys’ life through their first four games. At the same time Dallas’ offense is roasting enemy defenses at a record clip, Nolan’s squad is getting equally bombed. Dallas ranks second in the NFL, tied with the Browns behind the Falcons, with 12 touchdown passes allowed, and just one interception for their trouble. That opposing QBR allowed has shot up to 115.37 (only the Falcons are worse), and the defense has plummeted to 24th in DVOA.

It’s quite a tumble from Nolan’s impressive streak with the Saints. He helped coach up Demario Davis into a first-team All-Pro late in his career; before joining the Saints, Davis had been a so-so starter for the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns. Nolan also played a part in landing draft picks like Alex Anzalone and Kaden Elliss, whom he coached up into starting-quality pros. Manti Te’o was another project Nolan brought over from his Chargers tenure, and he ended up making some critical plays for the Saints.

Maybe the Cowboys can turn things around with more experience. Defenses are underperforming around the NFL, having lost months of summer practices and the entire preseason to the COVID-19 pandemic, and improvement should be expected.

On the other hand, some coaches are best suited to work as assistants, and that could be the case for Nolan. He certainly left a positive mark on the Saints and was an important assistant to defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.

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NFL power rankings, Week 3: 1-win Saints keep slipping down the board

The New Orleans Saints have an uninspiring 1-2 record after Week 3, prompting Touchdown Wire to drop them in the updated NFL power rankings.

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The hits keep coming and they just keep coming, and the New Orleans Saints are a bad day against the always-frisky Matthew Stafford and his Detroit Lions away from a 1-3 start to the 2020 season. That’s, well, far beneath just about everyone’s expectations.

It’s been rough. Drew Brees has drawn his share of the blame for limiting what the offense is capable of, but the Saints defense undid all of the good will they built up in training camp by falling flat on their faces right out of the gate.

That’s who Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar took aim at in his Week 3 NFL power rankings, blasting Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen for wasting a strong performance from Alvin Kamara and mistake-free quarterbacking from Brees. After dropping the Saints down to No. 12 a week ago, Farrar now ranks them at No. 15 with their loss to the Green Bay Packers:

Okay, it’s time to stop picking on Drew Brees. Let’s talk about the Saints’ defense. Through their first three games, Dennis Allen’s squad has allowed eight touchdown passes to just two interceptions, 6.7 yards per attempt, 42 first downs, and a whole lot of explosive plays. No, it doesn’t help when Brees can’t match those explosive plays allowed with as many of his own anymore, but New Orleans’ offense wasn’t the problem in the team’s 37-31 Sunday night loss to the Packers — Brees was more than efficient enough, and Alvin Kamara ran over everybody.

Here’s hoping they figure things out. The Saints are notorious slow starters under Sean Payton, often sleepwalking through the opening weeks in September before rallying during October. They’re poised to do just that with very winnable games against the Lions and Los Angeles Chargers standing between them and a Week 6 bye.

If they can add much-needed reinforcements like pass rusher Marcus Davenport and wide receiver Michael Thomas, this show could get turned around in a hurry.

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Report: Saints send a coach for personal meeting with Jadeveon Clowney

The New Orleans Saints have sent a member of the coaching staff for a last-minute recruiting pitch with Pro Bowl DE Jadeveon Clowney.

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With training camp nearly wrapped up, the New Orleans Saints have been working hard to make one big splash before the start of the regular season: a deal with free agent pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney. While Saints coach Sean Payton has reportedly been involved in several conversations with Clowney, the Saints have had to contend with rival offers from other teams like the Tennessee Titans.

On Friday, ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported that the Saints stepped up their efforts by sending a coach to Houston, where Clowney has lived since being picked first overall by the Texans back in 2014. The hope is that a one-on-one pitch could be what it takes to push this recruiting effort over the finish line. This follows an earlier report that players and coaches from the Saints and Titans had been reaching out to Clowney privately to try and win him over.

It’s unclear which member of the coaching staff is making the trip; if it were Payton himself, that would have probably been indicated in the report. Other options may be defensive coordinator Dennis Allen or well-respected line coach Ryan Nielsen, who worked as North Carolina State’s recruiting coordinator before joining the Saints.

The Saints are holding their final training camp practice session on Friday, so the coach’s absence could be noted by media on the scene. While driving can take more than five hours, flights from New Orleans to Houston average about 75 minutes, so it’s just as possible that the Saints could have all hands on deck for practice before this brief business trip.

It’s a bold move, and we’ll just have to wait and see if it pays off. Stay tuned.

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NFL plans to reopen team facilities, but Saints to wait for training camp

New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said the coaching staff will wait until training camp to regroup at the team facility

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The NFL issued a four-part memo to all 32 teams on Monday laying out guidelines for the reopening of team facilities, closed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, but the New Orleans Saints aren’t in a hurry to regroup at their Metairie headquarters.

Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said as much in a Monday conference call with local media, explaining that head coach Sean Payton had told his staff they would wait for a return in time for training camp later this summer.

“We’re handling everything that we can remotely,” Allen told Nola.com’s Luke Johnson. “At this time of year, if the players were in, I think it would be maybe a little bit different story. But I think we can get a lot of things accomplished being able to work remotely.”

While the Saints chose to not hold a formal virtual offseason — Payton told his players to focus on their families, and to show up at training camp in the best shape of their lives — the team has been scheduling teleconference calls, sometimes with guest speakers. NBA great Shaquille O’Neal was in on one such meeting.

So far, more than a dozen NFL teams have sent members of the coaching staff back to their facilities. But with state and local guidelines differing wildly in which businesses may reopen and when, it could take a while for everyone to get back on a level playing field.

It’s not clear just yet when the Saints will open their training camp. That’s likely going to happen at the NFL’s discretion (in accordance with local rulings), but dates are usually announced in mid-June. Last year, Saints rookies reported for work on July 18. Veteran players joined them a week later.

In the meantime, the Saints will continue to work from home and organize meetings as best as they can. With such an experienced roster to work with and a largely-unchanged coaching staff at the wheel, they should be able to resume work quickly once the time comes.

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