New Orleans Saints Forums - blackandgold.com - Broncos hire Allen as new defensive coordinator

Those who know John Fox best in the NFL believed the new Broncos head coach might choose an up-and-coming assistant coach as his defensive coordinator.

Fox did just that Monday, selecting New Orleans Saints secondary coach Dennis Allen as the Broncos' sixth defensive coordinator in six years. Allen, 38, interviewed with Fox on Friday in Charlotte, N.C.
The Broncos announced the hiring on their website.

Allen is expected to join the Broncos' coaching and scouting staffs in Mobile, Ala., this week for the practices leading up to the Senior Bowl.
Fox initially took a swing at hiring former Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks head coach Jim Mora, but Mora declined overtures from the Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles to run each team's defense. Fox then moved on to Allen.

Green Bay Packers defensive line coach Mike Trgovac, who was Fox's defensive coordinator with the Carolina Panthers for six seasons, was another possibility. But the Broncos would have had to wait until after the Packers played Feb. 6 in Super Bowl XLV before they could have formally asked for permission to interview Trgovac.
Trgovac, whose daughter who will be a senior in high school next fall, told associates with the Packers that while he would listen to what the Broncos had to say, he wasn't sure if he wanted to move at this point in his coaching career.
Also, with the number of homegrown players drafted by the Packers playing on a defense that ranked No. 2 in the NFL this season in points allowed, Green Bay figures to be good on that side of the ball for a while.
Allen is well-versed in the 4-3 alignment, which Fox figures to use as the Broncos clean up a defense that has surrendered at least 400 points in three of the last four seasons. Allen had been with the Saints for five seasons, during which time Gary Gibbs and Gregg Williams have run a 4-3 defense as the team's coordinator.
Before coaching with New Orleans, Allen spent

four seasons with the Falcons when Broncos general manager Brian Xanders was in Atlanta's front office.
Allen may have ended up with the Broncos all along. Williams was one of the candidates the Broncos initially considered to replace Josh McDaniels as the team's head coach. McDaniels was fired Dec. 6 with four games left in Denver's 4-12 season.
But Williams turned down the opportunity to interview for the Denver job, saying he could not "in good conscience" tell his New Orleans players what they had to do to get back to the Super Bowl and then interview with the Broncos.
Williams plays an aggressive form of the 4-3, with plenty of blitz packages paired with man-to-man coverages in the secondary. The Saints also place a premium on turnovers — they ranked third in the league in forcing turnovers in 2009, their Super Bowl season, and tied for 11th in 2008. Fox has said that forcing more turnovers will be one of the top priorities for the Broncos' defense in 2011.
The Broncos ranked last, or nearly last, in the 32-team NFL in every major defensive category in 2010, including last in points allowed per game (29.4), last in sacks (23) and last in yards allowed per game (390.8).
The Broncos also were tied for 30th in the league in interceptions with just 10. Denver didn't have a player with more than two interceptions.

Read more: Broncos name Allen team's defensive coordinator - The Denver Post Broncos name Allen team's defensive coordinator - The Denver Post
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