| Good morning, and welcome to the Saints Insider newsletter for Thursday, Sept. 8. Our daily season preview series continued Wednesday with a look at the coaching staff: • Leading off, Luke Johnson takes an in-depth look at first-year head coach Dennis Allen, who arrived in New Orleans by happenstance, but eventually grew to call the place home. In Johnson's exhaustively reported profile, find out why Allen says being the head coach of the New Orleans Saints is his dream job. • Allen isn't the only coach in a new role for the Saints. Longtime offensive assistant Pete Carmichael Jr. takes over as offensive coordinator. Learn more about the Saints' "great offensive mine" in Terrin Waack's insightful profile of Carmichael, the team's new offensive play-caller. • Did you know that new co-defensive coordinators Ryan Nielsen and Kris Richard were teammates and classmates at Southern Cal? Find out more about the Saints' coaching staff in our 5 Things to Know About the Saints Coaches feature. • Meanwhile, the Saints returned to the practice field on Wednesday to begin preparations for the season opener against Atlanta, and they welcomed back one of their biggest stars to the huddle, Luke Johnson reports. • Johnson also explains why one of the most popular LSU football players of the last generation showed up in the Saints locker room Wednesday in a Florida State shirt. Spoiler alert: He lost a wager. • Andrus Peat is the senior member of the Saints' offensive line. Columnist Rod Walker tells us why the towering left guard prefers to let his actions do the talking for him -- on and off the playing field. • And finally, the Saints listed nine players on the club's first official injury report, leading up to the Falcons game. Among the players who did not practice Wednesday was a key starting defender, Terrin Waack reports. We'll have more season preview coverage coming each day this week to get you ready for the big opening game on Sunday. Check NOLA.com daily to see updates from crack coverage team and to catch the daily installments of our seven-part series. As always, we appreciate your support and loyal readership. Until next time, Jeff Duncan | 
