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Ryan Nielsen has been busy. The New Orleans Saints defensive line coach nearly went back to the college ranks as LSU’s defensive coordinator, but the Saints were able to retain him — signing him to a contract extension and adding the assistant head coach title to his resume. But the Saints aren’t out of the woods yet.
ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reported that Nielsen is on the list of candidates interviewing for the open coordinator job with the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay didn’t re-sign Mike Pettine after his three-year contract expired in January, so Nielsen will have the opportunity to make his case to replace him.
There’s another candidate on the list that may be familiar to Saints fans — Jim Leonhard, who joined New Orleans for training camp late in his NFL playing career back in 2013. Leonhard retired after the 2014 season and has worked as the Wisconsin Badgers defensive coordinator since 2017. Like Nielsen was before making the jump to the NFL with the Saints, Leonhard is a rising star in the college game and could be a highly sought-after assistant in Green Bay.
Unlike the LSU situation with Nieslen, this isn’t a move the Saints can block (his contract made an NFL-to-college departure more difficult). He’s up for a promotion from position coach to defensive coordinator with the Packers, so the Saints can’t do anything to keep him from pursuing it.
Losing him would hurt, especially so late in the hiring cycle. The Saints already have to replace defensive backs coach Aaron Glenn (now the Detroit Lions defensive coordinator) and tight ends coach Dan Campbell (Lions head coach), as well as quarterbacks coach Joe Lombardi (Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator). Nielsen has done a great job helping to draft and develop prospects up front, so it would be tough to replace him.
