We’ve got movement: NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill first reported Wednesday evening that first-year head coach Dennis Allen is moving on from multiple assistants, including wide receivers coach Curtis Johnson. He also reports that Allen expects to name the newly-hired Doug Marrone to offensive line coach, replacing the outgoing Brendan Nugent.
Johnson, the former Tulane Green Wave head coach, was on staff with New Orleans in two different stints from 2006 to 2011 and again from 2017 to 2021. But with the Saints struggling to draft and develop receivers as of late, it made sense to look for a fresher approach. No replacement for Johnson has been immediately identified.
But let’s circle back to Marrone. He was Alabama’s offensive line coach in 2021 and has worked in that role before, including in New Orleans from 2006 to 2008 (when he was also named offensive coordinator). It might be a good fit for him as someone with plenty of experience in that role, though the Saints still need an offensive coordinator with Pete Carmichael Jr. moving into a different post.
Additionally, Underhill reports that the Saints won’t be retaining offensive analyst Jim Chaney (brought on last year) or longtime strength coach Dan Dalrymple, who has been with the team since 2006. Both of these departures were later confirmed by Nola.com’s Jeff Duncan. So that’s two position coaches on the outs in Johnson and Nugent, with another opening on top of the strength and conditioning staff.
But as both Underhill and Duncan observed, this is an extremely fluid situation. Allen is actively evaluating his staff and meeting with coaches every single day as he gets everyone in place. Things could continue to change as he speaks with different candidates and gets a better idea of who should be coaching which positions and holding certain responsibilities. As other options emerge, some coaches may end up in a different spot than initially planned. So keep a close eye out for updates.
Frankly, it’s good to see Allen shake things up with some underperforming units. Staying complacent isn’t the way forward. If he feels Marrone is an upgrade over Nugent as the offensive line coach, it’s worth pursuing. The same holds true for whichever candidates are in line to coach the receiving corps, which was the weak link of the offense last season. The initial move to bring in Marrone didn’t sit well with me given how it looked like a stagnant move to “just run the hits” and bring back a retread. But now that Allen’s vision is being executed, it’s exciting to see what more is in store.
