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Defensive coordinators probably haven't walked with a sense of comfort around the New Orleans Saints practice facility in quite a while.

The longest shelf life for a defensive coordinator with the Saints under Sean Payton's watch has spanned three seasons. Gary Gibbs and Gregg Williams each lasted that long. Rob Ryan didn't finish off his third season. Steve Spagnuolo made it one year and never even coach with Payton thanks to the bounty scandal sanctions.

Dennis Allen is entering his third season as the Saints' defensive guru. There's no reason to believe a fourth season would be a stunner. Not even a fifth year would shock the world.

Allen walks and talks with a sense of calm. He's not a screamer like Ryan. He doesn't bloviate like Williams. The TV camera rarely follows Allen.



He knew the challenge in front of him when he re-joined the Saints in the 2015 offseason.

First, he needed to juggle the awkward dynamic of working with Ryan. I'm assuming that couldn't be easy. Allen's job was as it appeared. He looked over Ryan's shoulder in 2015 as the obvious heir apparent to the job. A brutal loss at Washington during the back half of the schedule ended Ryan's time in New Orleans.

Allen has taken control of the defense ever since. The climb to the middle of the pack didn't occur instantly, though.

The Saints finished 27th in total yards allowed and 31st in points allowed in 2016. Essentially no different than many of his predecessors. But Payton trusted Allen to guide the unit from the defensive abyss in Allen's second full season back with the Saints.

New Orleans jumped to 17th in total defense last season and, more importantly, a tie for 10th in scoring defense at 20.4 points per game. As a result, the Saints won the NFC South and stood only seconds away from an NFC championship game appearance.

Even if the Saints remain in the same realm as last season statistically, this team should be neck deep in the race for a divisional crown and in the running for another Super Bowl run.

Yet on the surface, this defense should improve with numerous contributors returning to the group as well as the possible upgrades like Demario Davis, Patrick Robinson, Kurt Coleman and Marcus Davenport.

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Thirty3

The biggest difference has been the position coaches and lots of talent added last year.

RailBoss

First time in a long time that I actually have confidence in a Saints DC.