Saints reportedly hiring DC Dennis Allen to replace Sean Payton as head coach

It appears that the final head coach opening of the offseason has been filled.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the New Orleans Saints are promoting from within to replace Sean Payton, naming defensive coordinator Dennis Allen as their new head coach.

Payton announced in late January that he would be stepping down as head coach, ending a 16-year run that included nine playoff appearances and one Super Bowl win.

Allen, 49, has been the Saints' defensive coordinator since 2015. Prior to that, he served as the head coach of the then-Oakland Raiders from 2012-14. It might be an understatement to say that things didn't work out well for Allen in Oakland. He went 4-12 in his first season, and 4-12 again in 2013. He was fired less than a month into the 2014 season when the team started 0-4.

Allen began his coaching career as a graduate assistant with his alma mater, Texas A&M, in 1996. He briefly stopped to coach the secondary at Tulsa before being hired by the Atlanta Falcons to help coach the defense. He then was hired by the Saints, where he spent five seasons, helping them win the Super Bowl in February 2010 as the secondary coach. He spent the 2011 season with the Denver Broncos before landing the Raiders job.

In Week 15, Allen served as the interim head coach in the Saints' win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now he'll get to be the head coach full time.