Doug Marrone’s departure from the Saints causes Dennis Allen’s staff to undergo yet another change.

The New Orleans Saints fired offensive line coach Doug Marrone on Saturday, a source with knowledge of the situation said, creating another shakeup on coach Dennis Allen’s offensive staff.

The Saints narrowed down on Klint Kubiak to be their next offensive coordinator the day before Marrone’s departure. Kubiak is an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers, who play the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. Therefore, his hiring cannot be confirmed until after the Super Bowl.

The Saints general manager Mickey Loomis left open the idea that the next offensive coordinator would try to bring in some of his own staff once taking the position, so Marrone’s departure isn’t all that surprising.

This offseason, the Saints have lost five assistants. Along with Marrone’s exit, Pete Carmichael, the offensive coordinator, Kodi Burns, the wide receivers coach, and Bob Bicknell, the senior offensive assistant, were all fired by New Orleans. Joel Thomas, the team’s longtime running backs coach, departed to accept a similar role with the New York Giants.

After two seasons with the Saints, Marrone is no longer with the team. He returned to the team in 2022 after defensive coordinator Allen was elevated to coach. Marrone, 59, was previously an offensive coordinator and offensive line coach with the Saints from 2006 to 2008.

Marrone’s second season with the Saints wasn’t quite as successful as his first. The Saints’ line had a dismal start to the 2023 season, giving up 17 sacks in the first six games. Even if those issues were resolved, the Saints’ run game was not very effective (New Orleans allowed just 14 sacks the rest of the season).

Marrone was in charge of New Orleans’ rushing attack, which finished 10th in rushing attempts but 21st in yards. It was rare for blockers to advance to the second level, which consequently seldom made room for runners.

Trevor Penning, an offensive tackle and 2022 first-round pick, did not grow under Marrone, and as a result, the Saints benched Penning six games into the previous campaign. There was some instability up front as a result of the benching, but Marrone found a solution by kicking tackle James Hurst inside to left guard and moving guard Andrus Peat to left tackle.

On Thursday, August 10, 2023, at the Saints practice facility on Airline Drive in Metairie, Louisiana, during training camp, offensive line coach Doug Marrone of the New Orleans Saints instructs the offensive line. (Times-Picayune staff photo by David Grunfeld | NOLA.com)