Perhaps Darren Rizzi had always imagined this day would come, but in his mind's eye it certainly didn't look like it: He was wearing a team-issued sweatshirt and a serious face as he walked up to a lectern to announce his role as head coach in early November to be introduced.

The New Orleans Saints announced Monday morning that they have fired head coach Dennis Allen and named Rizzi interim head coach in his place. Rizzi, now in his sixth season with the Saints, gets his first opportunity to lead an NFL franchise as a head coach.

This was no time for celebration.

“A tough day for me, a tough day for this profession,” Rizzi said. “It just gives you the reality of the situation. Dennis has done a lot for this organization and I consider him a close personal friend, so it's obviously a difficult situation.

“As I told the team today, we all – myself included – have a part in where we are right now. We will all contribute to getting out of this hole we are in.”

The task for Rizzi and the Saints is to reverse the quickly lost season. He took over a team that had lost seven straight games, with the final game being a devastating loss to the previously 1-7 Carolina Panthers that sealed Allen's fate.

He takes over with eight games remaining on the schedule and his team only has six days until their next game – a home game against the rival Atlanta Falcons, no less. From the sound of his opening press conference, it's clear he has no intention of sending New Orleans into a nosedive that will improve its draft stock next season. He wants to win.

It's a daunting task, but Rizzi said he's up for the challenge. This means that at this point in the season he will not be sticking to the script as written.

“Everyone and everything is constantly being re-evaluated because right now the product is not acceptable,” Rizzi said. “Everything from the schedule to the way we approach the active players to the daily schedule; We’ll look at everything.”

Rizzi's only previous head coaching experience came at the collegiate level in New Haven and Rhode Island. But this isn't the first time he's applied for one of these jobs.

He spent the first 10 years of his NFL coaching career with the Miami Dolphins and interviewed for the head coaching job when the team fired Adam Gase after the 2018 season. That job ultimately went to Brian Flores, who decided not to keep Rizzi on the staff.

Several NFL teams sought Rizzi as a special teams coordinator, but he ended up in New Orleans. Three years after joining the Saints, Sean Payton resigned and Rizzi was one of the internal candidates for the job that ultimately went to Dennis Allen.

Now the opportunity has come – even if it didn't come as he had hoped. Rizzi can't even afford to view this as an audition for when the Saints (and eventually other teams) will want to hire a new head coach next offseason.

“I’m worried about tomorrow,” Rizzi said. “I was fortunate that the organization has the confidence to put me at the top here and I will do my best.”

Whether Rizzi is the best man for next year and beyond is in many ways irrelevant at this point. What is important for the team and especially for the players is that he may be the best man at the moment.

As special teams coordinator, Rizzi has spent the last six seasons building relationships with virtually every player on the roster as he has had to personally coach most of them. And even those he hasn't sent to one of his special forces, he makes it a point to get to know them.

Take security guard Tyrann Mathieu, for example. Mathieu hasn't played a single special teams snap since the 2018 season, when he played with the Houston Texans.

“I believe in Rizz,” Mathieu said. “I think Rizz is the type of coach, the type of leader and the type of guy that can really do anything. I think he knows what buttons to push to motivate guys.

“He’s a straight shooter and I think you need that sometimes. Guys need to be called sometimes. Rizz will give us that sense of reality.”

Or take tight end Foster Moreau, who has played a limited role on special teams since signing with the Saints last year.

“He’s an incredible leader of men,” Moreau said of Rizzi. “…There's something about him and the way he trains, the way he leads, the way he demands performance from his players.”

Moreau concluded his thoughts on Rizzi by saying, “He’s got a pretty interesting opportunity.”

The 54-year-old from New Jersey actually has an interesting opportunity. The odds are against him, but this is nothing new.

“I grew up a bit of a fighter, I was never really given anything,” Rizzi said. “I was a walk-on player in college, I was a free agent in the NFL, I started my coaching career there.” Division II. I had to work for everything I got. This is no different.

“I’m going to show up here every day of the week, do my best and try to change the product on the field.”