5 defensive coaches Seattle Seahawks could replace Pete Carroll with

Dennis Allen

Dennis Allen is one of two former NFL head coaches I have on this list. He was the coach of the Raiders from 2012 through 2014 and the Raiders were terrible. They also had little talent and anybody coaching them would have lost. I mean, the Raiders haven’t truly been relevant since the early 2000s, right?

Allen has proven to be a very good defensive coordinator, however. He has been this for the Saints since 2015. New Orleans used to be so offensive-heavy yet still successful that it detracted from anyone noticing the defense wasn’t good. But for the last several seasons the Saints have been pretty good because of their defense. The main reason for this is the coaching of Allen.

In fact, New Orleans has gone from a Drew Brees-will-save-us team to one where the defense wins games. Brees was still decent his last few years before he retired after the 2020 season but New Orleans was among the best teams in the NFC because of its defense.

The Saints are 5-6 in 2021 but 18th in scoring offense. The defense is 12th in scoring even though the team has struggled with injuries this year and lost its best pass rusher, Trey Hendrickson, to free agency in the offseason. New Orleans is first in yards-allowed-per-rush (3.4) and 10th in quarterback-rating-allowed (88.6).

In 2020, the Saints were fourth in QBR-allowed and fifth in yards-per-rush and fifth in points-allowed-per-game. New Orleans was third in forcing turnovers in 2020 and is 11th in 2021. Unlike the Seahawks defense (28th in forced turnovers this year), Allen’s defenses change games. And hiring Allen would help change the future of the Seahawks to a positive one compared to 2021.