The New Orleans Saints are adding to both their coaching and front-office staffs as former Oakland Raiders head coach Dennis Allen and former Miami Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland will join the team, sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter on Tuesday.
Allen will be hired as a senior defensive assistant and will work with current Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Allen served as a defensive assistant with the Saints from 2006 to 2010 -- including their Super Bowl championship season in 2009.
Ireland is being hired to handle college scouting for the Saints, a league source told Schefter. Ireland served as a draft consultant with the Seattle Seahawks early last year after he agreed to part ways with the Dolphins after a tumultuous 2013 season.
Rick Reiprish told ESPN.com on Tuesday that he has been fired as college scouting director. Reiprish had been with Saints since 2004 after previously working for the Jaguars. According to a league source, Reiprish quietly had his role diminished during this past season.
Reiprish's ouster perhaps creates an opening for Ireland to fill.
Ireland told multiple media outlets at the Senior Bowl that he has talked with the Saints but nothing is official. Saints GM Mickey Loomis declined to confirm or deny the moves. He said he would talk to the New Orleans media on Wednesday, which follows his typical routine at the Senior Bowl.
Many expected Allen to land with the Chicago Bears, where he would have been reunited with new coach John Fox. Allen left New Orleans in 2011 to become Fox's defensive coordinator with the Denver Broncos. After just one year in that role, Allen was hired as the Raiders' head coach in 2012.
Allen, however, was fired just four games into this season after the Raiders got off to an 0-4 start. The 42-year-old was 8-28 as a head coach in Oakland.
It's not clear yet exactly what Allen's role will be with the Saints. He served as their secondary coach from 2008 to 2010. The Saints currently have a secondary coach in Wesley McGriff, though they have parted ways with assistant secondary coach Andre Curtis.
The Saints have not yet announced any of their staff changes, so other shifts could be in store after a disappointing 7-9 season in which they ranked 31st in the NFL in yards allowed and dead last in defensive efficiency, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
The Saints finished in the bottom five in total yards, rushing yards, takeaways, third-down conversions and red zone percentage.
Allen grew up in the coaching ranks with the Saints after joining Sean Payton's original staff in 2006 as an assistant defensive line coach. Before that, the former Texas A&M safety worked as a college assistant with Texas A&M and Tulsa and spent four years as a defensive assistant with the Atlanta Falcons.
Allen worked under defensive coordinators Gary Gibbs and Gregg Williams during his first stint with the Saints. He oversaw a secondary that developed into one of the team's strengths during that Super Bowl run, helping to develop young defensive backs Roman Harper, Malcolm Jenkins and Tracy Porter, while also adding impact free agents Jabari Greer and Darren Sharper.
It's still unclear what Ireland's role will be. The Saints lost player personnel director Ryan Pace and regional scout Josh Lucas to the Bears. So a lot of roles near the top of the scouting department are changing for the first time in the Loomis-Payton era.
Miami reached the playoffs only once in Ireland's six seasons with the team. The Dolphins' 2013 season was marred by the bullying scandal involving offensive linemen Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito.
Ireland is also known for having asked receiver Dez Bryant whether his mother had been a prostitute during a 2010 pre-draft interview at the Dolphins' headquarters.
Prior to that, Ireland served with the Dallas Cowboys from 2001 to 2007, elevating to vice president of college and pro scouting.