Saints hire Dennis Allen to replace Payton as head coach

The New Orleans Saints hired defensive coordinator Dennis Allen as their head coach, the team announced Tuesday.

Allen replaces Sean Payton, who stepped away from football this year after coaching New Orleans for the last 15 seasons.

Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, and former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores were other known candidates for the Saints job.

This will be the second head coaching stint of Allen's career. The 49-year-old, who's been with the Saints since 2015, coached the Oakland Raiders for two-plus seasons from 2012-14, posting an 8-28 record.

He previously served as the defensive line and secondary coach for the Saints (2006-10) and defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos (2011).

Allen replaced Payton during the 2021 season in Week 15 when the latter was sidelined due to COVID-19. The Saints beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-0.

New Orleans enters the offseason with several pressing questions. The Allen-coordinated defense ranked fourth in scoring last season, but the Saints' offense struggled in the first year without retired quarterback Drew Brees.

Injuries forced New Orleans to start four different quarterbacks during the campaign - Jameis Winston, Trevor Siemian, Taysom Hill, and Ian Book. Overall, the unit averaged only 21.4 points per game in 2021.

The Saints enter the 2022 offseason approximately $76 million over the salary cap, according to Spotrac.

With Allen's hiring, all nine NFL head coaching vacancies from the end of the regular season have now been filled.