Despite the departure of Sean Payton, the New Orleans Saints coaching staff will look much the same in 2022.
How the defense is run will likewise be much the same despite Dennis Allen ascending from defensive coordinator to head coach and Kris Richard and Ryan Nielson taking over as co-defensive coordinators.
"Both of them bring a unique skill set to the operation," Allen said this week at the NFL Scouting Combine, via NOLA.com’s Amie Just. "I just felt like both of them are qualified to do it. Both of them deserve a shot to do it. And why not make them co-coordinators? Because at the end of the day, there's really still one voice and that's mine."
With Allen at the defensive reins, the 2021 Saints were the fourth-ranked defense in points allowed and No. 7 in yards. Thus far this offseason, it would seem the Saints' mantra is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
For Allen, the decision to name Nielson and Richard co-DCs appears to have been that both were deserving and that he would still be directing the D, so why not?
"I felt like I had two highly qualified guys on the staff to do the job," Allen said. "And yet in my mind, I always saw it as, I was still going to be the one that was going to call it."
Just as Allen is maintaining control of the defense, Richard and Nielsen's co-defensive coordinator status comes alongside their titles from last season: Nielsen as defensive line coach and Richard as secondary coach.
The Saints will aim for a sixth consecutive winning season in 2022 and a return to the postseason.
They'll do so with plenty of familiar coaching faces in familiar places and with slightly different titles.
Ultimately, Allen will still be calling plays and when his overall head coaching responsibilities prevent him from his old defensive duties, Richard and Nielsen will be there to lead the way.
It's not the most conventional of approaches, but Allen is confident the execution will be bolstered by familiarity.
"It's a pretty organized plan as to how things are going to operate," Allen said. "In that sense, there's not a lot of things that have changed. We've got a great group of guys that work really, really well together.
"I've got zero challenges in terms of how that's gonna work. For our team to have success, regardless of who's the coordinator, who's not the coordinator, who's calling it, who's not calling it, we've all got to be unselfish and be willing to put the team in front of ourselves."
