Dennis Allen’s second season as Saints coach features rebuilt staff

(The New Orleans Saints will begin training camp July 26 to start preparations for the 2023 season in earnest. In preparation for the start of training camp, Crescent City Sports will take a look each week at a key offseason storyline that will bear watching during training camp and the preseason.)

Part 2: The coaching staff

METAIRIE – The New Orleans Saints are approaching their second season of the post-Sean Payton era.

The first season did not go well.

Dennis Allen was promoted from defensive coordinator to succeed Payton and although the defense mostly adhered to the standard that earned Allen the job, the Saints finished 7-10.

The Saints showed little hesitation in bringing Allen back for a second season, but the coaching staff did feature notable departures for multiple reasons. An interesting element of the changes is that the defense, which was clearly the more effective unit, featured two major changes affecting three areas while the offense, which vacillated between average and below average, featured just one.

Last season, Allen maintained control of the defense while handing the title of co-defensive coordinator to line coach Ryan Nielsen and secondary coach Kris Richard. Though the defense ultimately ranked fifth in total yards and ninth in scoring, the Nielsen-Richard tandem – featuring two proven position coaches – didn’t necessarily produce coordination in which the performance of the pairing exceeded the sum of its parts.

After last season the Atlanta Falcons lured Nielsen away to be their sole coordinator and Allen chose not to give the same opportunity to Richard, and instead the two parted ways.

Allen called Richard “an outstanding football coach,” but that the two were different “in how we view doing things” and had “some difference of opinion in terms of personnel.”

Eventually Allen tabbed former Browns defensive coordinator Joe Woods to be his new coordinator.

The head coach will continue to call the defensive plays so Woods’ role will be to build useful working relationships with the players, hone their technique and be Allen’s right hand in game planning.

Allen called Woods “smart, detailed, great relationship builder.”

“I thought that was important in that position,” Allen added. “I think a lot of times people say, ‘Well, he’s player’s coach,’ and that he’s got this negative connotation that he’s soft or whatever, and it’s really more about taking a personal interest in each and every player, and I think Joe does a great job of that.”

Woods said that by improving players’ technique he can “try to clean up some issues they had last year.”

One of the biggest issues for a defense that didn’t have many issues was a shortage of takeaways. The Saints took the ball away just 14 times, contributing to a minus-11 turnover ratio. Both stats ranked second to last in the NFL.

Linebacker Demario Davis explained how getting takeaways is a key part of a multi-step process to playing top-notch defense.

“You have to stop the run, you have to get after the quarterback, you’ve got to get off the field on third down, you’ve got to generate takeaways and you have to do exceptionally well in the red zone,” Davis said. “In most of those categories we’ve done a good job, but (takeaways) is one we can definitely grow. There’s a lot that goes into creating a takeaway.

“I believe the biggest separator for defenses is the ones that are able to take the ball away. The ratio of turnovers on offense and defense, the playoff teams are at the top of that statistic.”

Davis, who’s entering his fifth season in New Orleans said that taking the ball away is “something that’s kind of imbedded in our DNA.”

“There was a down tick in that last year,” he added, “so we have to find a way to make sure that we generate that.”

Davis said one of his first conversations with Woods after the new coordinator was hired “was about the way that we can be more dynamic on third down and getting after the quarterback and rushing the passer.”

The lone returning position coach on the defense is Michael Hodges, who is entering his fourth season as linebackers coach and is highly regarded by the players he coaches.

Long-time college and NFL assistant Todd Grantham replaced Nielsen as line coach and Marcus Robertson was hired after four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals to replace Richard as secondary coach.

Offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael, passing game coordinator Ronald Curry, running backs coach Joel Thomas, wide receiver coach Kodi Burns, and offensive line coach Doug Marrone return.

The signing of free-agent quarterback Derek Carr presents an opportunity for the offense to improve after two sub-par seasons in the wake of the retirement of former quarterback Drew Brees.

Tight ends coach Clancy Barone is a long-time college and NFL assistant who spent the last two seasons coaching the Chicago Bears tight ends. He is the lone new position coach on offense, replacing Dan Roushar, who was dismissed and joined head coach Willie Fritz’s staff at Tulane as offensive line coach.

Special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi and assistant Phil Gagliano are heading into their fifth seasons.

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