Ex-Falcon Ricardo Allen joins Miami Dolphins’ coaching staff

Former Falcons safety Ricardo Allen has joined the Miami Dolphins' coaching staff. (Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@ajc.com)

Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@

Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@

Former Falcons safety Ricardo Allen has joined the Miami Dolphins' coaching staff. (Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@ajc.com)

INDIANAPOLIS — Ricardo Allen, who recently retired from the NFL, has been hired as a special-teams assistant coach by the Miami Dolphins.

“Yeah, I’m with the Dolphins,” Allen said at the NFL scouting combine Thursday.

Allen was on his way to watch the quarterbacks, tight ends and wide receivers run through drills.

Allen, who started in a Super Bowl for the Falcons and played in the Super Bowl this year with the Bengals, announced his retirement Feb. 20 after playing seven seasons. He played six of those with the Falcons from 2015 to ‘20.

Allen was hired by former Falcons offensive assistant Mike McDaniel (2015-16), who recently was named the Dolphins’ head coach.

Allen, 30, played in 91 NFL games and made 77 starts after being selected in the fifth round (147th overall) from Purdue in the 2014 NFL draft. He finished with 355 tackles, 11 interceptions and 26 pass breakups over his career.

Former Falcons defensive back Ricardo Allen was hired by the Miami Dolphins' coaching staff as a special-teams assistant. (By D. Orlando Ledbetter/dledbetter@ajc.com)

Credit: By D. Orlando Ledbetter

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Credit: By D. Orlando Ledbetter

Allen, who is from Daytona Beach, Florida, used to sit in on the offensive meetings and had said that he wanted to go into coaching when he retired.

Allen envisioned climbing the coaching ranks to become an offensive coordinator before becoming a head coach, and now he has his start. Allen has stated his desire to coach offense because he understands where the weaknesses are in the defense.

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