Saints’ Dennis Allen: ‘I’m Not Even Sure I Know What a Cheese Curd Is’

Saints coach Dennis Allen made a shocking admission on Tuesday that he’d never tried one of Wisconsin’s greatest delicacies: cheese curds.

Speaking with reporters ahead of this Friday’s preseason game against the Packers, the first-year head coach admitted that not only had he never had a cheese curd, but that he wasn’t entirely sure that he knew what one was. 

“Well, I’ll say this: I’m not even sure I know what a cheese curd is,” Allen said. “Now, I’ll pretty much eat anything, so if you put it in front of me, I’ll probably eat it. But I don’t know what a cheese curd is.”

After getting an answer from a reporter in the room, the Saints coach encouraged the media to bring him some tomorrow. 

Allen, an Atlanta native, has spent his entire coaching career in the South (Texas A&M, Tulsa, Falcons, Saints) and out West (Broncos, Raiders) so it’s not entirely surprising that he wouldn’t know the popular Midwest fried snack. Saints linebacker Zack Baun, a Wisconsin native and former Badger, gave Allen a pass when asked if he had thoughts about his coach’s lack of cheese curd consumption. 

“I think Wisconsin is a very underrated state. We stay lowkey. Not everyone has to know what a cheese curd is,” Baun said with a smile. “They’ll figure it out if they want to and then be surprised by the result.”

Hopefully, someone within the Saints organization will acquire some cheese curds for Allen to try when the team travels to Green Bay at the end of the week.