When Dennis Allen gets head-coaching interviews this hiring cycle, all the New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator has to do is point to the clinic he and his team did shutting down Tom Brady and the high-flying Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense in Sunday night's 9-0 shutout.
Allen stood in for Sean Payton, who was out following a positive COVID-19 test, and his defense perplexed the G.O.A.T., picking off Brady once, sacking him four times, causing a TB12 fumble and holding the Bucs to just 302 total yards. It was as complete a defensive effort as you'll see against the greatest quarterback in NFL history.
The Saints DC was already in line to get head-coaching interviews this year. Sunday night's prime-time performance could provide a stepping stone to another gig.
Allen was previously the head coach of the Raiders for 36 games over three years, getting fired four games into the 2014 season. It wasn't pretty, with Oakland going 8-28 over his tenure, but that was also seven years ago.
After Sunday's win, the 49-year-old said it felt good being back in the big chair and that he would like another chance to run a club.
"Look, I relish that opportunity," he said, via the team's official transcript. "Certainly, I really appreciate everything that Sean Payton has meant to me and my coaching career. So, for him to ask me to step in for him in this circumstance I appreciate the fact that he had the faith and the trust in me to lead this team. I really appreciate all the players and the assistant coaches and the way that they just hung together and fought and scratched and clawed for each other so that we could come away with this win. I think anytime you win in this league I think it's a great feeling, and certainly in these circumstances, it feels good to win."
The Saints became the first team to shut out the defending Super Bowl champions since the Atlanta Falcons did so against the New York Giants, 34–0 in Week 15, 2012. The only other team to shut out the defending SB champions on the road was the Denver Broncos against the Raiders, 17–0 in Week 5, 1981.
In the last seven regular-season matchups with the Buccaneers, the Saints are 7-0, with Allen's defense allowing 15.4 PPG with 25 sacks and 16 takeaways.
We see every cycle coaches hired for very specific reasons. Well, if a team is looking for a blueprint to beat Brady, then Allen might just be its man.
