Saints Kick Off Season With New Head Coach

By Sarah Hazelrigg

A new head coach, Dennis Allen, will be calling plays this season for the New Orleans Saints after the team parted ways with Sean Payton this offseason.

Allen, formerly the Las Vegas Raiders head coach from 2012 to the middle of the 2014 season, was promoted from his position as the Saints’ defensive coordinator, a position he has held for seven seasons. Allen will debut as the Saints’ head coach in their season opener against the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 11.

Allen has also promoted and hired several assistant coaches to support his coaching style.

Along with Payton, the team also lost a lot of players. Terron Armstead, left tackle, and Marcus William, safety, both left in free agency. Malcolm Jenkins, safety, retired after 13 seasons in the NFL.

To make up for so many losses in the secondary, the Saints signed Marcus Maye, safety. However, Maye was accused of aggravated assault with a firearm and is now facing a potential suspension from the NFL due to his arrest.

Despite losing some key players, the Saints are still bringing back many players from last year’s defensive unit that ranked fourth in the NFL in total points allowed last season. Defensive end Cameron Jordan, cornerback Marshon Lattimore, and linebacker Demario Davis will all be returning this season.

In the draft, the Saints picked Chris Olave, a wide receiver from Ohio State, and Trevor Penning, an offensive tackle from the University of Northern Iowa, to fill empty offensive positions. Olave was the 11th pick and Penning was the 19th.

Throughout his college career, Olave accumulated 2,702 receiving yards over 175 plays, averaging 15.4 yards per play, and scored 35 touchdowns. He will be starting alongside Jarvis Landry and Tre’Quan Smith in the Saints’ first game against the Falcons.

Penning also saw success in college as part of an offensive line that allowed just 36 sacks and a loss of 231 yards on the season. However, Penning has been placed on injured reserve after suffering from a torn ligament in his foot during a preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers. It is unknown when he will return to play, but he is expected to miss much of the season.

Penning joined Malcolm Roach on injured reserve. Roach was also injured in the preseason game against the Chargers. He suffered a lower leg injury but is expected to return to play in the Saints’ week 5 game against the Seattle Seahawks.

Though there are injuries at many positions on the Saints, the quarterback position is not one of them. The Saints have re-signed Jameis Winston to a two-year, $28 million contract with $21 million in guarantees. Last year Winston played seven games and threw for 1,170 yards before tearing his ACL. Now he is healthy and expected to start this season.

Another returning player this season is Alvin Kamara. Last season Kamara was the Saints’ leading rusher despite missing four games, which earned him a spot in his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl. He rushed for 898 yards on 284 carries with four touchdowns and caught 47 receptions for 439 yards with five touchdowns.

The Saints did a lot of restructuring and rebuilding this off-season to prepare for this new era with Allen as head coach.