It wasn't a surprise the Atlanta Falcons opted for a midseason firing of their former head coach Dennis Allen. The coaching change had obvious benefits with the Saints being far more consistently competitive to finish the season including making the season's final game far more interesting than it should have been.
Allen's time as a head coach was a failure and it became glaringly obvious that the former DC wasn't capable of filling a head coach role. This is something the rest of the NFC South knew a season ago and it was a gift to allow Allen and quarterback Derek Carr to run it back. With that said, the former coordinator should have zero problems finding another landing spot considering his impressive resume.
Dennis Allen would be an interesting fit to fill Atlanta's vacant defensive coordinator role
The Atlanta Falcons do have ties to their hated rival thanks to current GM Terry Fontenot. Fontenot was a part of New Orleans organization while Allen was the defensive coordinator. Allen's failure as a head coach is going to cover just how elite he often was as a coordinator.
Allen isn't the best fit with Steve Wilks and Robert Saleh both as far more appealing options. However, Allen would be a huge upgrade over Lake as well offering a veteran coach with experience of leading defenses to overachieving seasons.
Stealing from the Saints does make the move tempting giving the Falcons a good defensive mind with long-term NFC South experience that will help give Atlanta an edge over their division rivals. Allen did spend time in Atlanta as a part of the coaching staff from 2002-2005. Allen would leave the NFC South and return to coach the New Orleans defense from 2015-2021. An impressive resume that has to be at least considered when the Falcons are exploring their options.