It hasn’t taken two months for New Orleans Saints fans to begin doubting whether their team hired the right head coach. Dennis Allen’s squad has stumbled out of the gates to a 2-5 start, falling behind the 3-4 records his old Raiders teams achieved in each of his first two seasons back in the day. Everyone from Sean Payton to Mickey Loomis and Allen himself said that he was walking into a perfect situation to compete with a strong roster, but he won more games with some of the worst Raiders rosters we’ve seen in recent memory.
So it’s fair to question whether Allen is the right man for the job. The Saints at least put up appearances for an in-depth hiring search, having met with a number of qualified candidates, only to settle for Allen instead — preaching the continuity he would maintain from Payton’s tenure. Instead, it’s looked like that continuity was mistaken for complacency.
But we’re losing the track here. The story here isn’t about Allen’s struggles (of which we’ve discussed at length), it’s taking stock of the other coaches New Orleans interviewed for the job before deciding they already had a better option in the building. Here’s what’s up with coaches like Doug Pederson, Eric Bieniemy, Brian Flores, and other former Saints head coach candidates:
Doug Pederson
The Jacksonville Jaguars have started the year at 2-3 under Pederson, which checks out given the sorry state of their roster. He’s still got a lot of things to work out, but for now Pederson’s priority has been getting Trevor Lawrence up to speed. And his franchise quarterback has improved in everything from his completion percentage (going from 59.6% last year to 63% this season), touchdown percentage (2% up to 3.7%), interception rate (2.8% down to 1.6%), and sack rate (dropping from 5% to 3.9%).
He’s helping Lawrence stabilize and grow more comfortable in the NFL, setting up the Jaguars for improvement. Pederson brings a lot of credibility as a Super Bowl winner and calming presence. The Saints should be kicking themselves for letting him leave their building.
Aaron Glenn
The Lions are very average defensively, ranking 16th in passing yards allowed (1,496) amid their 1-5 start. Glenn’s unit is struggling in critical situations like third downs (ranking second-worst with a 47.9% conversion rate) and in the red zone (where opponents have scored on 69.6% of drives, third-worst). He hasn’t made enough adjustments to stop the bleeding, but it’s worth acknowledging how many injuries Detroit is dealing with especially among their recent draft picks like defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike, who was in line for a big role next to Aiden Hutchinson.
That would probably be the same story if Glenn were calling the shots in New Orleans. The Saints have dealt with a lot of injuries, too, limiting their ability to adjust the lineup and move guys around as much as they’d like. It’s totally possible that things would be going better with Glenn at the helm. It’s also very likely that they’d be struggling just as badly.
Eric Bieniemy
The Chiefs are 5-2 this year and Bieniemy’s input on the Kansas City Chiefs offense has been impressive yet again, with the Chiefs ranking first in the league for points scored (223) and second in total yards (2,823). They’re also second-best in converting third downs (51.9%) and scoring after reaching the opposing 20-yard line (76.7%).
So yes, that’s just one stat. And no, Bieniemy isn’t the primary play caller for Kansas City. But being a play caller isn’t a sign of a great head coach, or else we wouldn’t be having this discussion at all. Allen certainly hasn’t excelled after changing roles. The Saints offense hasn’t lost them as many games as their defense, but it’s hard to believe hiring Bieniemy and going in a fresh direction wouldn’t have gone differently than the Saints’ stale season so far. At least a new coach could believably try new things under adversity. Allen’s tenure has just been uninspiring.
Brian Flores
Flores was hired by the Steelers as their senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach, and he’s well-positioned to take over for Mike Tomlin should he leave for another opportunity in the years ahead. For now, Pittsburgh is 2-5 and trying to make the best of it without their best player after T.J. Watt’s early-season injury. They’re still defending the run well (limiting opponents to 4.1 yards per carry, 6th-best in the league) but getting gashed through the air with the third-worst pass defense. Still, they’re an opportunistic squad with 8 interceptions (third-most).
Much like Pederson, Flores would have brought a lot of credibility to New Orleans as a proven quantity who posted back-to-back winning seasons with the Miami Dolphins these last two years. His Dolphins team went 9-8 last year and won as many games as Allen has in his entire NFL career (going 9-17, if we count his interim appearance last year when Sean Payton was unavailable for a week). Flores would have won even more games if he weren’t tied to a clownshow Dolphins operation that actively tanked multiple seasons. He would have been a good hire for the Saints.
Who else was in the mix?
The Saints also interviewed special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi for the head coach job, and he was named assistant head coach after the team hired Allen instead. His unit has since fallen off hard and currently ranks among the worst units around the league in punt return yards allowed, kick return yards allowed, successful field goals (19 of 20, or 95%) and penalties in the kicking game (9 fouls for 61 yards).
One coach the Saints hoped to interview was Brian Daboll, but they got into the process too late after Sean Payton’s delayed retirement decision, and he never met with New Orleans before accepting the New York Giants job. Now the Giants are 6-1 and looking competent on offense while surprising everyone on defense. He’s an early Coach of the Year favorite.
The Saints were granted an interview request with Byron Leftwich but the two sides didn’t manage to schedule a meeting, and he’s remained with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as their offensive coordinator. And injuries to the Bucs receiving corps and offensive line have derailed their season with Tom Brady finally feeling his age. Tampa Bay is a shocking 3-4 on the year so far, largely due to subpar performance on offense.
