The question of who coaches the Saints used to have a boringly simple answer. For fifteen years, you just said "Sean Payton" and moved on with your day. But life in the Big Easy hasn't been that simple lately. If you're looking at the sidelines at Caesars Superdome right now, the face of the franchise has shifted dramatically. It’s a new era. Honestly, it’s a bit of a rollercoaster for the Who Dat Nation.
Currently, the New Orleans Saints are moving forward under the leadership of Dennis Allen, though the seat is perpetually warm in the NFL. Allen isn't a new face in the building. He was the defensive mastermind behind some of the most opportunistic units in league history before taking the big chair. But being the guy who calls the blitzes is a world away from being the guy who has to answer to Mickey Loomis and Gayle Benson when the offense stalls out in the red zone.
The Dennis Allen Era: Defense First, Questions Later
When Sean Payton stepped away, the Saints didn't want a rebuild. They wanted continuity. They looked at Dennis Allen—a guy who had been Payton’s right hand—and thought, "This keeps the culture intact."
Allen’s coaching journey is actually pretty fascinating if you dig into the dirt. He had a rough go as the head man for the Oakland Raiders years ago. He went 8-28. That’s the kind of record that usually ends a head coaching career forever. But he came back to New Orleans, rebuilt his reputation as a defensive genius, and earned a second chance.
His defensive schemes are legit. He loves a "4-3" base but he’s incredibly aggressive with his secondary. He trusts guys like Marshon Lattimore and Tyrann Mathieu to play on an island. It’s high-risk, high-reward stuff.
However, the struggle for who coaches the Saints effectively often comes down to the other side of the ball. Allen is a defensive guy through and through. In New Orleans, where fans grew up on a diet of 40-point games and Drew Brees' air-raid precision, the recent offensive struggles have been a bitter pill to swallow. It’s not just about the wins; it’s about the soul of the team.
The Klint Kubiak Factor: The New Brain on the Sideline
You can’t talk about who is coaching this team without mentioning the 2024 overhaul. Recognizing that the offense had become as stagnant as swamp water, Allen made a massive move by hiring Klint Kubiak as the Offensive Coordinator.
This is huge.
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Kubiak comes from the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree via the San Francisco 49ers. He brought that "West Coast" outside zone blocking scheme that is taking over the NFL.
- It uses a lot of motion.
- It relies on play-action to freeze linebackers.
- It puts Derek Carr in a position to make quick, decisive throws rather than hero-ball heaves.
When you watch the Saints now, you’re seeing a marriage of two very different coaching philosophies. You have Allen’s gritty, "bend-but-don't-break" defensive mindset clashing—or hopefully blending—with Kubiak’s modern, high-speed offensive rhythm.
Why the "Head Coach" Title is Only Half the Story
In New Orleans, the coaching structure is a bit like a gumbo. There are a lot of ingredients. Mickey Loomis, the General Manager, has more influence on the "coaching" of the roster than almost any other GM in the league. He’s the one who manages the "salary cap hell" that the Saints are perpetually in.
Because the Saints constantly push money into the future, the coaching staff is under immense pressure to win now. There is no "five-year plan" in New Orleans. The coaches are expected to take a veteran-heavy, expensive roster and make it work. This makes the job of who coaches the Saints one of the most stressful in professional sports. You aren't allowed to fail because the bill is always coming due.
Then you have the positional coaches who are the glue.
- Joe Woods (Defensive Coordinator): He handles the day-to-day of the defense so Allen can focus on the whole team.
- Darren Rizzi (Special Teams): Ask any Saints fan—Rizzi is a legend. His units are consistently top-tier.
- Todd Grantham (Defensive Line): He brings that "college energy" to the trenches.
The Shadow of Sean Payton
It’s impossible to discuss the current coaching situation without acknowledging the ghost in the room. Sean Payton didn't just coach the Saints; he was the Saints. He and Drew Brees saved football in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
Every time Dennis Allen makes a conservative call on 4th-and-short, the fans scream for Payton. It's a tough spot. To succeed as the coach of the Saints, you don't just have to beat the Falcons or the Bucs; you have to beat the memory of the most successful era in franchise history.
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Honestly, the transition hasn't been seamless. There have been locker room rumbles and questions about leadership styles. Allen is more reserved. He’s stoic. Payton was a firebrand who would eat a bag of Mike and Ikes while staring down an official. The personality shift is jarring for the fanbase.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Saints Coaching Staff
People think the Saints are "rebuilding." They aren't. Not really.
The coaching staff is doubling down on veteran talent. They brought in Derek Carr because they didn't want to coach up a rookie. They kept aging stars like Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis because they want "on-field coaches."
If you're wondering who coaches the Saints, look at Demario Davis. On the field, he’s basically an extension of the coaching staff. He calls the plays. He sets the alignment. In many ways, the Saints rely on "player-coaches" more than almost any other team in the NFC South. This is a deliberate strategy by Allen and Loomis to maintain stability while the league around them gets younger and faster.
The Strategy: How the Coaches Plan to Win
The blueprint is actually pretty simple, even if it’s hard to execute.
First, the defense has to be elite. Not good—elite. They need to create turnovers to give the offense a short field. Dennis Allen's "simulated pressures" are a staple of this. He’ll look like he’s blitzing six guys but only drop four, confusing the quarterback into a bad throw.
Second, they need to run the ball. Under Kubiak, the coaching staff is obsessed with the run game setting up the pass. If Alvin Kamara isn't getting 20+ touches, the coaching staff generally feels like they’ve failed their game plan.
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Third, they need to manage the clock. The Saints coaches know their defense is their best asset. By keeping the offense on the field and the clock moving, they protect their defenders from getting gassed late in the fourth quarter.
Critical Next Steps for the Who Dat Nation
If you’re following the team this season, keep your eyes on these specific areas to see if the coaching is actually working.
Watch the Red Zone Efficiency
The biggest indictment of the coaching staff recently has been the inability to score touchdowns instead of field goals. If Kubiak’s new system doesn't fix this by mid-season, expect the rumors about coaching changes to intensify.
Monitor the Penalty Count
Discipline is the hallmark of a well-coached team. In the early days of the post-Payton era, the Saints were uncharacteristically sloppy. If the yellow flags start piling up, it’s a sign that Allen is losing his grip on the locker room.
Follow the Injury Reports Closely
Because the Saints have one of the oldest rosters in the NFL, the "Director of Sports Science" and the training staff are just as important as the guys with headsets. How they manage "load management" for veterans like Taysom Hill will determine if the team collapses in December.
Look at the 4th Quarter Adjustments
The best coaches win in the halftime locker room. Pay attention to whether the Saints' defense gets better or worse as the game goes on. Dennis Allen has historically been great at making mid-game tweaks, but that has to translate to wins, not just "moral victories" where the defense played well but the team lost 13-10.
The identity of who coaches the Saints is currently a work in progress. It’s a mix of old-school defensive grit and a desperate attempt to modernize a stagnant offense. Whether Dennis Allen can fully step out of the shadow of the past remains the biggest storyline in New Orleans. For now, the keys are in his hands, but the engine is definitely running loud.