Look, the New Orleans Saints at least made a pretense of considering other options back when Sean Payton left the team and opened a vacancy at head coach. They interviewed well-qualified candidates like Doug Pederson and Brian Flores before ultimately going with what they saw as a safe choice in promoting Dennis Allen — and now Pederson and Flores have both claimed head-to-head wins against him.
So what about the other head coach candidates the Saints passed on in favor of Allen? Where are they now? Let’s run through the list:
Doug Pederson
Pederson was one of the first candidates the Saints met with after Payton’s sudden departure, having taken a year off from football in the wake of an ugly Philadelphia Eagles power struggle. And he was a logical choice given his Super Bowl-winning success and ties to Louisiana (he played college football at Louisiana-Monroe, formerly Northeast Louisiana). But talks never advanced beyond a conference call and the Jacksonville Jaguars hired Pederson a few days later.
He immediately guided Jacksonville to a big playoff upset in his first year on the job, and Pederson currently has the 6-3 Jaguars in the thick of the AFC playoff picture with quarterback Trevor Lawrence playing at a high level. He outcoached Allen in a 31-24 win in New Orleans last month that wasn’t as close as the finals core would have you believe.
Brian Flores
Flores also interviewed with the Saints before they hired Allen, though he was passed by and had to settle for an assistant role with the Pittsburgh Steelers — who beat the Saints last season 20-10, limiting them to just 186 yards of offense. The former Miami Dolphins head coach may have been overqualified for a senior assistant position.
He parlayed that into the Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator job this offseason and came away with another win against New Orleans; Flores’s blitz-heavy defense came away with three sacks, two interceptions, and a fumble while going 4-of-14 on third down and holding the Saints to just 65 rushing yards in that 27-19 upset.
Aaron Glenn
Glenn turned in a solid performance during his first year as Detroit Lions defensive coordinator, and he’s a candidate the Saints knew well given his experience in the building on Dennis Allen’s staff. It made a lot of sense to interview him and give him a fair shake at the job.
But they went with Allen instead, and Glenn went on to improve the Lions defense, which has done its part to help Detroit reach a 7-2 record with a shot at the conference’s top playoff seed if the Eagles stumble.
Eric Bieniemy
Bieniemy infamously sat through an eight-hour interview on a Sunday with Mickey Loomis and other decision-makers in New Orleans before being told he wasn’t getting the job, and a head coach position has continued to elude him. He made a rare lateral move this offseason to get out of Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes’ shadows, teaming up with the Washington Commanders, where he has their passing attack humming.
Second-year quarterback Sam Howell (drafted in the fifth round last year) leads the league with 2,783 passing yards despite dealing with protection issues and little support from the run game. Bieniemy could do wonders with a more talented roster — like the one he would have had in New Orleans.
