A day earlier, the Miami Dolphins had identified a new head coach, leaving the only houston Texans and New Orleans Saints teams in the league with no stakes in the league. However, the answer was available 24 hours later, and on February 8, Beijing time, the two teams officially announced their head coaches. Unlike the other teams, both teams chose internal promotion to determine the new manager. So far, the nine teams that need a new manager have been selected.
The Saints hired defensive coordinator Dennis Allen as the new manager
With the departure of the team's long-term manager Sean Payton, the Saints opened an urgent manager selection process, and eventually they identified their defensive coordinator Allen. The 49-year-old coach, who served as Raiders manager from 2012-2014, had a poor record of 8 wins and 28 losses, and the second time he took the lead, he had the opportunity to prove himself. Although the Saints also interviewed former Dolphins coach Brian Flores and Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bienemi, it was eventually determined that Aaron was identified.
Allen became the 11th full-time coach in Saints history. In 2006, he was a member of Payton's initial coaching staff and served as assistant defensive forward coach. When the Saints won the Super Bowl in 2009, he was the team's second-tier coach. Allen left the Saints in 2011 to become the Broncos' defensive coordinator and coached the Raiders from 2012-2014, but was cut after four games in 2014 and returned to the Saints in 2015.
The Texans promoted defensive coordinator Lovie Smith to the new manager
Coincidentally, the Texans have also chosen to make their defensive coordinator the new manager, Lowe Smith was the Texans' assistant coach and defensive coordinator last season, and now he replaces the former coach David Cooley, who was laid off in January, as the new manager. Smith had two coaching experiences, the Bears in 2004-2012 and the Pirates in 2014-2015. With a combined record of 89 wins and 87 losses, he became The Associated Press Coach of the Year in 2005.
Smith also became the league's fifth minority head coach, but since Smith did not leave the Texans to join another team, the Texans would not receive compensatory draft picks. At the same time, the Texans also promoted quarterback coach Pep Hamilton to offense coordinator. Smith, who developed excellent personal relationships with Texan players during his year as defensive coordinator last season, now has a lot of prestige on the team, which has helped to integrate this turbulent team.
(Aibao)