After a promising 2-0 start, the New Orleans Saints’ season spiraled into a seven-game losing streak, capped off by a gut-wrenching 23-22 loss to the hapless Carolina Panthers. In an attempt to salvage what’s left of the season, ownership fired head coach Dennis Allen and gave special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi the interim label.
If New Orleans decides to move on from Rizzi in the offseason, which college football coaches would make sense as a full-time replacement for Allen?
New Orleans Saints Fire Dennis Allen: 5 Potential Replacements From the College Ranks
First, some table-setting context.
The Saints’ lead job isn’t all that attractive. What’s the ownership’s sales pitch to prospective candidates?
The franchise has struggled to draft talent since the 2017 class that included CB Marshon Lattimore, OT Ryan Ramczyk, DB Marcus Williams, RB Alvin Kamara, LB Alex Anzalone, and EDGE Trey Hendrickson.
As a result, the roster will be led by aging stars who will be on the wrong side of 30 entering the 2025 season:
- LB Demario Davis, 36
- DL Cameron Jordan, 35
- TE Taysom Hill, 35
- QB Derek Carr, 34
- DB Tyrann Mathieu, 33
- RB Alvin Kamara, 30
However, the most egregious aspect of the Saints’ job is the severe lack of financial mobility, as they are set to be over the cap by $60+ million. While Allen was the fall guy, general manager Mickey Loomis doomed the roster from the start.
Following Allen’s 18-25 stretch, Loomis is now 46-61 (43.0%) without legendary head coach Sean Payton guiding his team, which isn’t exactly confidence-inducing for potential interviewees.
When Payton departed in 2022, the Saints didn’t interview a single college coach, instead focusing on veteran NFL coaches such as Brian Flores, Aaron Glenn, and Doug Pederson. That’s likely to be the case once again, as the college-to-pro coaching pipeline has run dry.
Since 2000, eight of the 12 coaches who made the move have not survived past their third season. That doesn’t mean there aren’t a few college coaches worth a serious look. Here are five names New Orleans could consider as potential replacements for Allen.
Brian Kelly, HC, LSU
On the Move the Sticks podcast in 2018, Brian Kelly, who was the Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach at the time, said he was “kinda passed” making the leap to the NFL.
“I’m at a point now where I’d kinda like to control all those things. … It would be hard for me not to control my roster.”
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He interviewed with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013 but hasn’t appeared to take much interest in the pros since. However, perhaps his feelings have changed since taking the helm with the LSU Tigers in the SEC. They’ve won 10 games in back-to-back seasons and are 6-2 through eight games in 2024.
With an NFL head coach position open just an hour drive away and Kelly not getting any younger (he is currently 63), perhaps he will throw his hat in the ring one final time.
Matt Campbell, HC, Iowa State
The Iowa State Cyclones’ Matt Campbell has been mentioned in recent NFL hiring cycles (was courted by the Detroit Lions a few years ago), and for good reason.
Campbell took over a program that had only eight bowl appearances in the 38 years before his arrival and earned six bowl berths (with a seventh right around the corner) in his nine-year tenure.
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In 2020, Iowa State finished first in the Big 12 in the regular season for the first time in 119 years.
Despite routinely ranking in the middle of the pack recruiting-wise, Campbell has done more with less than his conference counterparts and deserves a call from the NFL.
Lincoln Riley, HC, USC
Following three years with a defensive-minded head coach at the helm, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Saints go the opposite direction in 2025, and they don’t come much more offensive than the USC Trojans’ Lincoln Riley.
A few years back, several NFL teams came knocking on Riley’s door. But instead of jumping to the pros, he left Oklahoma for USC, landing a 10-year, $110 million contract.
The Dallas Cowboys considered him in 2020 before hiring Mike McCarthy, and the Eagles had him on their radar the following year before choosing Nick Sirianni.
Riley has coached three QBs — Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, and Caleb Williams — who became No. 1 overall picks, plus Jalen Hurts. His USC teams have underperformed, particularly this year without Williams, but there is no denying his ability to generate points and coach QBs.
Ryan Day, HC, Ohio State
In seven years with the Ohio State Buckeyes, Ryan Day has produced a gaudy 63-9 record, losing no more than two games in any given season. They have won two Big Ten titles (2019-2020) and made the College Football Playoffs three times (2020, 2021, and 2023).
Clearly, Day knows how to run a blueblood program at a high level. The only question is how effective he would be in the NFL, where the talent level on the other side of the field is equal.
Deion Sanders, HC, Colorado
If the Saints want to sell tickets, there’s no better way than hiring Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders and then selecting his son, QB Shedeur Sanders, with their first-round pick (currently No. 3 overall).
Would that be the correct decision? Absolutely not, but there’s a non-zero chance it happens.
Sanders told Dan Patrick during the 2023 season that Shedeur and Shilo would enter the 2025 NFL Draft: “They’re going to come out at the same time … next year.”
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Not having his sons leading their respective sides of the ball, compounded by a severe lack of recruiting and the imminent departure of two-way star Travis Hunter, points to Sanders leaving Boulder following the conclusion of the 2024 campaign.
If the Buffaloes meet or exceed expectations — which they have so far at 6-2 overall and 4-1 in conference play — the NFL could pick up the phone. Now, Sanders has said he doesn’t want to coach in the NFL on multiple occasions. But perhaps a big enough contract — and the potential to coach his son at the professional level — could change his mind.
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