Sources - New Orleans Saints to hire defensive coordinator Dennis Allen as head coach

The New Orleans Saints have informed defensive coordinator Dennis Allen that they are hiring him as their next head coach, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Monday.

Allen, 49, will replace his longtime boss, Sean Payton, who stepped away two weeks ago. This will be Allen's second stint as a head coach after he went 8-28 as coach of the Raiders from 2012-14.

The Saints also interviewed former NFL head coaches Brian Flores and Doug Pederson, Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and their own special teams coordinator, Darren Rizzi, for the job.

Allen was considered the candidate to beat since he has been so successful as New Orleans' defensive coordinator — and since the franchise wasn't looking for an overhaul after posting the NFL's second best regular-season record over the past five years.

Dennis Allen was considered the favorite to replace Sean Payton, and for good reason. The Saints finished last in scoring defense in 2015, the year they fired Rob Ryan and made Allen interim DC. Since then they've improved tremendously:

«Those eight teams that let go of head coaches, I think their situations are different than ours,» Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said heading into the coaching search. «We had our coach retire with a lot of really good things in place already.

»That doesn't mean that it can't be improved and built upon. But… we don't see it as a wholesale culture change, roster change, anything like that."

New Orleans' defense has morphed into the strength of the team in recent years, ranking fourth in the NFL in both yards allowed and points allowed over the past three seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

Allen also