Dennis James Allen (born September 22, 1972) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

coach who is the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He served as head coach of the Oakland Raiders from

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. Allen also previously coached for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

, Atlanta Falcons, University of Tulsa and his alma mater,

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

. In 2022, Allen was promoted to head coach of the Saints after spending the previous seven seasons as the team's defensive coordinator.

Early life and playing career

Born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Allen grew up in

Hurst, Texas Hurst is a city in the U.S. state of Texas located in the densely populated portion of northeastern Tarrant County and is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. It is considered a Dallas and Fort Worth suburb and is part of the Mid-Cit ...

near Fort Worth and graduated from L. D. Bell High School. Allen attended

and played as a

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

R. C. Slocum Richard Copeland Slocum (born November 7, 1944), is a former American football player and coach. He served as the interim athletic director at Texas A&M University from January through June 2019, and previously served as the head football coach ...

's "Wrecking Crew" defense. Allen made an interception in the fourth quarter that secured an 18–9 win for Texas A&M over

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. In the 1994 and 1995 seasons, Allen started the final 21 games of his collegiate career and was part of a defensive unit that ranked in the top five in the nation. Allen earned a

B.B.A. Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor's degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business administration and usually including advanced ...

in management from the Texas A&M’s Mays Business School in 1995. In 1996, Allen signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent but was cut during training camp.

Coaching career

Early coaching career

Allen began his coaching career at his alma mater Texas A&M, as a graduate assistant coach under his former coach R. C. Slocum. Holding that position from 1996 to 1999, Allen worked mostly with the secondary while pursuing a master's degree in

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, biomechanical, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kinesiology to human healt ...

from the Texas A&M College of Education. He completed his degree in 1998. From 2000 to 2001, Allen coached the secondary at

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

Atlanta Falcons

With the Atlanta Falcons, Allen was a defensive quality control coach from 2002 to 2003 then defensive assistant from 2004 to 2005.

New Orleans Saints

Allen then moved to the

, as defensive line coach from 2006 to 2007 before being secondary coach from 2008 to 2010. The Saints won

Super Bowl XLIV Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champions New Orleans Saints and the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Indianapolis Colts to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

in 2009, in which the Saints ranked 3rd in interceptions despite giving up 321 yards per game.

Denver Broncos

After his success with the Saints' secondary, he was hired to be the

’ defensive coordinator. The Broncos defense was in the bottom half of yards allowed, ranked 23rd, but were 5th in the league in sacks in 2011.

Oakland Raiders

On January 24, 2012, Oakland Raiders' general manager Reggie McKenzie hired Allen as the team's 18th head coach. He was the first Raiders defense-oriented head coach since

John Madden John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American football coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, who he led to eight pl ...

's retirement after the 1978 season, because the team's longtime former owner Al Davis (until his death during the 2011 season) preferred offensive-minded head coaches. In his first season as head coach, the Raiders struggled as they finished the 2012 season with a record of 4–12. That offseason, the Raiders were facing

salary cap In professional sports, a salary cap (or wage cap) is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Sever ...

problems and had traded away most of their draft picks prior to Allen's arrival, which did not allow him to establish his system with the right players. In the middle of the 2013 season, Allen decided to bench quarterback

Terrelle Pryor Terrelle Pryor Sr. (born June 20, 1989) is a former American football wide receiver and quarterback. Considered the most recruited high school football-basketball athlete in southwestern Pennsylvania since Tom Clements, Pryor was widely rega ...

(who was injured) for undrafted rookie

Matt McGloin Matthew James "Matt" McGloin (born December 2, 1989) is a former American football quarterback. He was the starting quarterback for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team from 2010 to 2012. McGloin was the first walk-on quarterback to start a ...

, in hopes of salvaging the rest of the season. Later, Pryor continued to be benched although he was healthy enough to return. On September 29, 2014, following a 38–14 loss to the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

and beginning the 2014 NFL season with 4 straight losses, Allen was fired.

New Orleans Saints (second stint)

The Saints rehired Allen as senior defensive assistant on January 20, 2015. After

Rob Ryan Robert Allen Ryan (born December 13, 1962) is an American football coach who is currently the senior defensive assistant for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). Ryan has served as a defensive coordinator or assistant co ...

was fired later in the season, on November 16, Allen was promoted to defensive coordinator. On November 29, Allen's first game as defensive coordinator, the Saints were defeated by the Houston Texans 24–6. His defense gave up 362 yards while recording one sack and one interception in the loss. Allen was promoted to New Orleans Saints head coach on February 8, 2022. On December 10, the NFL fined Allen $100,000 for defensive end

Cameron Jordan Cameron Tyler Jordan (born July 10, 1989) is an American football defensive end for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California, and was drafted by the Saints in the first round of ...

faking an injury in the Week 13 game against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

Personal life

His father

Grady Allen Grady Lynn Allen (January 1, 1946 - December 4, 2012) was a professional American football player who played linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons for the Atlanta Falcons. Born in San Augustine, Texas, Allen played d ...

was also a standout

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

for the Aggies and later in the NFL for the Falcons. Dennis and his wife, Alisson, have a son, Garrison, and a daughter, Layla.

Head coaching record

References

External links

New Orleans Saints bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Dennis 1972 births Living people American football safeties Atlanta Falcons coaches Denver Broncos coaches New Orleans Saints head coaches Oakland Raiders head coaches Texas A&M Aggies football coaches Texas A&M Aggies football players Tulsa Golden Hurricane football coaches People from Hurst, Texas Players of American football from Texas Players of American football from Atlanta National Football League defensive coordinators