5 case studies that give the Dallas Cowboys defense hope

Dennis Allen

New Orleans Saints Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen has an interesting past. His father played linebacker in the NFL for five seasons. There is no doubt Allen talked with his father about the nuances of playing in this league.

Defensive ingenuity usually leads to people being on the fast track and Dennis Allen is no exception. In 2002 at the age of 30, Allen earned the role of defensive quality control in Atlanta and he never looked back.

His 2009 role as Denver’s defensive coordinator catapulted him into the head coaching ranks as the Oakland Raiders hired him to become their head coach the following season. Allen was the first coach to be hired by the Raiders without the approval of legendary owner Al Davis.

The team expected to grow with Allen as he was just 40 years old and the team promptly went 4-12 in his first season as a head coach. That led to some head-scratching as Allen was successful in the same division the previous year yet still managed to falter.

His previous season in Denver, Allen dealt with an erratic Tim Tebow and most of the team’s losses were a part of Tebow’s growth and it was the defense that kept them in most ball games. I am not going to bother with statistics as they are misleading in this situation but the job he did was good enough to earn a head coaching gig.

His second and third years in Oakland were just as bad as his first. The team went 4-12 in 2013 then 3-13 before he was finally fired by Oakland.

Allen went back to his roots and was named interim defensive coordinator late in the 2015 season after the Saints boasted the worst defense in the league under fired defensive coordinator Rob Ryan.

In his first full year, the terrible Saints defense slightly improved to 28th in the league. Certainly not a ringing endorsement for my point until you realize the last four years under Allen, the Saints defense has finished sixth, eighth, eighth, and finished second this season after hovering around the top spot for most of this past season.

If he keeps this pace up, Allen might be a hot head coaching name to watch once again next year.