When Dennis Allen was fired in November, it came as little surprise that special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi took over as head coach on an interim basis. As expected, the latter sees the team’s stretch run as a means of auditioning for the position on a full-time basis. 
“It all depends on what the organization’s looking for,” Rizzi said when discussing the Saints’ HC search (via ESPN’s Katherine Terrell). “Sometimes when you go with the hot name or the hot coordinator, I don’t think that a lot of times owners or GMs take into account the things that they haven’t done. They haven’t worked with the players on the other side of the ball and they don’t have any experience with special teams.”
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Indeed, Rizzi’s third phase experience makes him unique compared to many other head coaching candidates. For many staffers, the path to an opportunity to lead a team involves a track record of success on the defensive or (especially recently) offensive side of the ball. Rizzi has worked exclusively as a special teams coordinator at the NFL level, but he has served as a head coach in the past.
The 54-year-old coached New Haven from 1999-2001, and he also took charge of Rhode Island for the 2008 campaign. Those tenures came at the Division II and FCS levels, respectively, however, and other candidates with experience in higher-profile positions (including NFL gigs) will be available during the 2025 hiring cycle. The Saints are joined by the Jets and Bears so far in needing a full-time coach, and others will no doubt join them after the regular season ends.
New Orleans went 2-7 this year before Allen’s dismissal, making a run to the postseason all-but impossible for Rizzi. The team (which was officially eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday) has gone 3-2 since the coaching change despite dealing with numerous injuries on offense. Continued performances along the lines of those seen so far could help Rizzi’s case for taking on the full-time gig.
As he acknowledged, though, it will still be a challenge to get the posting for 2025. Rizzi interviewed with the Dolphins in 2019 before Brian Flores was ultimately hired, and he received another look in 2021 after Sean Payton departed the Saints (preceding Allen’s promotion to HC). A report from last month indicated Rizzi could be a strong contender to have the interim tag removed; it will be interesting to see if that winds up being the case once the season is over.