Dennis Allen never found much success as an NFL head coach, amassing an 8-28 record in three seasons with the Oakland Raiders. In one season as the defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos, he helmed a unit that finished 20th in the league in total defense.
So, while his track record as a leader of men is questionable, he must be doing something right - interview skills? - because he continues to find NFL employment.
It was announced Tuesday morning that Allen would be joining the New Orleans Saints, a team he previously worked for as a defensive assistant from 2006 to 2010, in a "senior defensive role," per Adam Schefter of ESPN.
The plan, apparently, is for Allen and already in-place Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan to work in conjunction to help the putrid New Orleans defense rebound from an abhorrent season that saw it finish 25th against the pass and 29th against the run.
That's all well and good and may well be the case next season.
The Saints do have a number of talented defensive pieces like Cameron Jordan, Keenan Lewis, the recently arrested Junior Gallette - assuming he's cleared to play next season - and Kenny Vaccaro, despite his late season benching.
Plus, the only good thing about having such an astoundingly bad season is there's really no place for them to go but up, so statistically speaking, they'll probably be better than they were this year.
But, as Larry Holder of NOLA.com reasons, Ryan will most likely be operating with a very short leash, and if there isn't a serious improvement from the unit, Allen could be poised to take over for him in the 2015-16 season.
"Told last week change on Saints' defensive staff was coming. Rob Ryan will be staring at his replacement in Dennis Allen if no change in '15," Holder tweeted.
The entire Saints team had a down year this past season, so it's very likely that improvement from Drew Brees and the offense will mean improvement for a defense not forced to constantly play from behind the eight ball, and vice versa.
But if Ryan can't get his unit back on track, and quickly, he could be watching Allen, his "senior defensive" assistant, take over the reins of his squad by or before season's end.
