Dennis Allen sees definitive improvement when he looks in two places as he enters his third season as New Orleans Saints head coach.
The first is at the staff and roster that has been assembled entering Sunday's regular-season opener against Carolina in the Caesars Superdome.
The second is in the mirror.
"I think everybody grows as you gain experience," Allen said. "I think I'm in a better place than I was even at this time last year. I continue to grow more and more confident because I see the players believing in the message. I see the players coming together the way that I want them to come together.
"Obviously, we've got to go out there and do it on Sundays – that's what it's all about. I saw some improvement in that regard last year, I've seen more improvement as we've gotten to this point this year.
"(But) I'm extremely confident in my ability to do this job and I'm extremely confident in our teams' ability."
And several team leaders – notably safety Tyrann Mathieuand linebacker Demario Davis – have expressed their confidence not only in Allen, who rejoined the organization in 2015 and has choreographed some of the best defenses in franchise history, but also in quarterback Derek Carr , who enters his second season as the starter and will helm the new offense installed by coordinator Klint Kubiak.
"I can't always pick my family, but I love them, and I support them," Mathieu said. "It's important to work through the ups and the downs. I think adversity is kind of good for everybody, we all should get a little taste of that.
"Those two guys are really probably two of the hardest workers in our building, and we see that every day. It doesn't always go as we script it, but those two guys are definitely guys that I believe in.
"And at the end of the day, it's a quarterback driven league. The head coach and the quarterback have got to be on the same page. We believe in them, we support them and we encourage it."
And Allen believes in himself, and what he's seeing from his team.
"I think that's part of growing in your job," he said. "I think every year you get more and more confident in your ability. I don't point to one specific thing.
"Obviously, there's been a lot of change here in the last three years. I feel good about where I'm at, I feel good about where our staff's at, I feel good about where our team's at.
"I feel like the continuity has been really good with this group. Specifically offensively, these are guys that I made the hire. I think any time you do that, there's another sense of – I don't know what that word is – community, loyalty, whatever the case may be. But I certainly sense a cohesive staff, that's for sure."
