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Allen got a trial run last season, taking over from Rob Ryan over the final six games of the season and holding opponents to almost five fewer points per game, although a lot of the Saints’ yards-per-play numbers were comparable to the horrendous first half of the season that led to Ryan’s ouster.

That defense carried only a partial imprint from Allen. No defensive coordinator can make sweeping changes in the middle of the season. Now, after the Saints spent the offseason overhauling the talent at linebacker and defensive tackle, a group that finished at the bottom of the league in each of the past two seasons has been handed to Allen to mold into a cohesive unit over the summer.

So far, Allen is keeping any wholesale changes to the defense to himself. Allen, asked about his defensive philosophy at the Saints’ rookie minicamp over the weekend, responded with a half-joking answer grounded in simplicity.

“Don’t let them score,” Allen said.



Allen plans to keep teams off the board by building his defense on a foundation of aggression. Nearly all of the Saints’ defensive numbers ended up either at or near the bottom of the league rankings, but the Saints’ low numbers of sacks (31, 27th in the NFL) and interceptions (9, 27th) played a key role in opposing quarterbacks posting an NFL-record 116.2 rating against the Saints last fall.

“There are a lot of areas where we have to get better,” Allen said. “Red zone (defense) is an area we have to improve on. ... As a general philosophy, we have to make sure that we limit the points, we need to take the football away, and we need to create pressure on the quarterback.”

New Orleans has publicly placed a premium on improving the pass rush throughout the offseason, particularly the interior rush.

Despite salary cap constraints, the Saints added a three-technique defensive tackle in free agency in Nick Fairley, then backed it up by taking a pair of interior pressure players, Sheldon Rankins and David Onyemata, in the draft. New Orleans did not address the defensive end position, but with Pro Bowler Cameron Jordan entrenched on one side and a promising group that includes 2015 second-round pick Hau’oli Kikaha, Kasim Edebali, Obum Gwacham and 2015 fifth-rounder Davis Tull competing on the other side, there is young talent on the edge.


Full season as defensive coordinator lets Dennis Allen install his philosophy | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, Louisiana

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"We may have lost the game, but you'll be hurting tomorrow." Doug Atkins