New Orleans Saints coaching staff that could draw league-wide interest

The New Orleans Saints have won 49 games over the last four regular seasons, a number matched by no other NFL teams.

That level of success brings with it headhunters; not only on the field as in other teams looking to take you down but also in the coaching staff and front office. That type of success from the New Orleans Saints leads to other teams wanting things that you have.

The Saints have so far avoided any major changes to their coaching staff and front office staff since the 2015 season. But unfortunately, time does not stand still and the Saints have several coaches and staff members currently being looked at for higher positions.

It starts with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.

Since putting together this defense led by Cam Jordan upfront, Demario Davis in the middle, and Marshon Lattimore on the back end, Allen has been able to use his talent as a coordinator to get more and more creative.

That’s turned into a defense that this season is top five in yards allowed and points allowed per game.

Over the last three seasons, they’ve been in the top half of the NFL in both those categories as well. And we as Saints fans all know this team has enough offensive talent that they only need a top-16 defense to have a solid chance at winning.

So obviously teams have been watching Allen and he is on a shortlist of head coaching candidates. He left the Saints as secondary coach in 2010 to take the defensive coordinator job in Denver under John Fox.

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After a year there he got the chance to coach in Oakland. His run there was not terribly successful and he was fired during the 2014 season. The Raiders didn’t have a ton of draft capital during Allen’s tenure, nor did they have a viable NFL QB.

Also on the table is assistant head coach/tight ends coach Dan Campbell. Campbell came to the Saints as a player in 2009.

He began coaching the following season in Miami and became their interim head coach in 2015 as the team fired Joe Philbin after a 1-3 start. Campbell earned a lot of respect, going 5-7 the rest of the way, but was passed over as the head coach.

He returned to the Saints as the assistant head coach/tight ends coach in 2016. He’s reportedly been spoken to about the head coaching job in Detroit.

Aaron Glenn is another coach who may get some interest. He’s currently the Saints’ secondary coach. His move would likely be to a coordinator position. There also could be interest in him moving up to the Saints coordinator spot should Allen leave.

Beyond those guys, the Saints front office has simply been phenomenal pulling talent together through the coordinated efforts of GM Mickey Loomis, VP/assistant GM and director of college scouting Jeff Ireland, and VP/assistant GM and director of pro scouting Terry Fontenot.

These guys have drafted and signed through free agency what is unquestionably one of the best and deepest rosters in the NFL.

Jeff Ireland began his career as special teams coach at North Texas. He went on to work for the NFL Draft Combine, then had several scouting stops before becoming the GM of the Miami Dolphins for six seasons.

After a year consulting the draft for Seattle, he landed his job in New Orleans.

We have Ireland to thank for all the tremendous drafts the Saints have enjoyed since 2015, including the legendary 2017 draft.

Terry Fontenot has been with the Saints for 18 seasons, starting as a marketing intern.

A Tulane grad and four-year football letterman from Lake Charles, Fontenot was asked to join the scouting staff. He’s worked his way up from the bottom and now sits near the top of the Saints scouting structure.

Fontenot is an important voice in the organization in regards to bringing in talent like Demario Davis, Teddy Bridgewater, and Malcom Brown.

This year has not only been unkind to coaches, with six jobs being open as of this posting, but also with a number of GM jobs being available. Jacksonville, Carolina, Washington, Detroit, Houston, Denver, and Atlanta are all looking for new GMs.

Jacksonville, Detroit, Houston, and Atlanta are playing the Daily Double, needing both GM and coaching jobs filled, as well as the New York Jets and the Los Angeles Chargers looking for coaches.

Fontenot is reportedly going to be interviewed by Atlanta and Detroit, and maybe Carolina and Jacksonville. Ireland is scheduled to interview with Carolina and possibly Detroit.

On the coaching front, Dan Campbell is likely to speak with Detroit, but that may not happen until the season ends so they may already have placed a GM and coach before he might have a chance.

This could all be a whole lot about nothing.

It’s great that these coaches and front office guys are getting interest because it means our team is doing things that other teams would like to emulate. But there are a lot of candidates out there, particularly in the area of coaching. So it could be that these are all just look-see’s and we get everyone back. Fingers crossed.

The Who Dat Nation wishes the Saints personnel well in their interviews – we do want to see them succeed and reach all their goals. But selfishly, we’re really happy with our recent success and would love to see them remain with the Saints while we’re in the midst of this run.