Tag: Coaches

Former Saints safety set to join New York Jets as special teams coordinator

Former Saints safety Chris Banjo is set to become the New York Jets special teams coordinator, reuniting him with Aaron Glenn:

The New Orleans Saints have another former player moving to a new coaching staff this offseason. One of their old defensive backs Chris Banjo has joined Aaron Glenn’s New York Jets to be their special teams coordinator. This comes after former Saints quarterback J.T. Barrett moved on from the Detroit Lions to the Chicago Bears to become their quarterbacks coach as well.

Banjo played for the Saints from 2016 to 2018, and decided to pursue a coaching career with the Denver Broncos under Sean Payton in 2023, staying there through last season as an assistant special teams coach. He performed well and has now received a promotion elsewhere, joining a former Saints coach in Glenn on the Jets, who was just hired as their head coach. Glenn worked closely with Banjo when he was the team’s defensive backs coach from 2016 to 2020.

The Saints connections seem to always find a way to get jobs together and find new teams to build out the Payton tree, and that has continued immensely this offseason.

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Saints offensive assistant set to be quarterbacks coach at the Senior Bowl

New Orleans Saints offensive assistant Jordan Traylor will get a chance to coach several NFL quarterback prospects at the Senior Bowl:

The New Orleans Saints will have another coach at the Senior Bowl, this time it is offensive assistant Jordan Traylor, who will be handling the quarterback coach position for the National Team. With this, he will gain the opportunity to with with Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Wilfrid Laurier quarterback Taylor Elgersma, and Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough.

One of the most intriguing parts about this is that Elgersma will be the second player ever from a USports school (the governing body of Canadian university sports) to attend the Senior Bowl, with the only other one being wide receiver Tyrone Williams back in 1992. Williams would go on to be drafted in the ninth round of the 1992 NFL draft, and would bounce around the CFL and NFL for about six seasons, ultimately being on rosters that won two Super Bowls (XXVII and XXVIII) also winning a Grey Cup with Doug Flutie at the helm in 1996.

With that said, this will be a great opportunity for Traylor to scout him among other quarterbacks in the game. Traylor has spent four seasons as a part of the Saints coaching staff, and six seasons with the team. He has been a defensive, offensive, and scouting assistant at different points throughout his tenure with the Saints, and has had the chance to work with Arkansas and Texas as well at the collegiate level.

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Saints offensive assistant Kevin Petry set to coach in the Senior Bowl

The Saints will have multiple representatives at the Senior Bowl this year, one of whom is offensive assistant Kevin Petry

The New Orleans Saints have always been a team that highly values Senior Bowl attendees, drafting them at a relatively high clip and always trying to take part in the event. This year seemingly will be no different, as they will have offensive assistant Kevin Petry coaching the wide receiver group for the American Team, which has quite a significant talent pool.

Petry has been coaching with the Saints for eight seasons now, entering his ninth, and has been with the organization for 12 years in various positions including as a video assistant early on. He will be able to get a first hand look at some of the wide receivers in this class, which is actually a position of need for the Saints this offseason to add some quality players to a group of Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Bub Means, and a few others who will remain beyond this year.

Elic Ayomanor is one of the names to really keep an eye on from this group, as he is one of the higher rated receivers outside the group of likely first-round talents. In two seasons with Stanford he accrued 125 receptions for 1,844 receiving yards (14.8 yards per reception) and 12 touchdowns.

Overall, having a coach (or multiple) at the Senior Bowl and other events is a positive regardless of outcome, as it gives them the ability to work with the players and see how they may mesh into the system of the team they represent.

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Another option just opened up for interim Saints head coach Darren Rizzi

Another option just opened up for interim Saints head coach Darren Rizzi. Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos fired their special teams coordinator:

Another option just opened up for interim New Orleans Saints head coach Darren Rizzi. Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos fired their special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo. The Broncos finished in the top half of the league for yards allowed on both punt returns (251) and kick returns (604), but they were tied for the sixth-highest average of yards per punt allowed (48.7) and gave up the second-most punting yardage (3,849). Only the Cleveland Browns were worse. Clearly that wasn’t good enough.

Rizzi is interviewing for the Saints’ full-time head coaching position on Friday. But if he doesn’t get that job and doesn’t plan on working under someone else considered for it, it’s easy to imagine him joining Payton and many of his former coworkers in Denver. Payton brought Rizzi to New Orleans back in 2019.

He has a lot of special teams experience even before coming to the Saints. Rizzi coached the Miami Dolphins kicking units for years and he’s widely regarded around the league. Even if he doesn’t end up in Denver or stay in New Orleans, he shouldn’t be out of work long. We’ll just have to wait and see what’s next for him.

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Marcus Freeman says this Notre Dame coach is ready to move up

Mike Mickens has the coaching ability to move on — but the Irish hope it’s not anytime soon.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] has high praise for one of his assistant coaches — but he also doesn’t want that coach to leave for a promotion anytime soon.

Pete Sampson, The Athletic’s Notre Dame beat writer, quotes Freeman heaping praise on [autotag]Mike Mickens[/autotag], who is the defensive backs coach and defensive passing game coordinator for the Irish.

Of the 37-year-old Mickens, Freeman said this: “He’s ready to be a defensive coordinator when he gets the right opportunity. But I’m not excited to see him leaving our defensive staff anytime soon.”

This is how coaching works, of course — young assistants who do a good job get a shot to move up to a higher level. And given how well the Notre Dame secondary has played in 2024, Mickens has definitely had an impact.

Notre Dame fans likely have the same position as Freeman — let Mickens stay as long as possible, given the secondary’s success.

A trio from Notre Dame on Football Scoops Coach of the Year finalists
Image courtesy of Notre Dame Athletics

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Teddy Bridgewater shares unexpected connections with 2024 Saints team

Teddy Bridgewater, who plans to make an NFL return in the near future, shares some surprising connections with the Saints’ new-look coaching staff:

Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has announced that he plans to make an NFL return in the upcoming weeks, and while the Saints may not be the most likely landing spot, he does share some intriguing connections with their current offensive staff. Beyond his two-season stint from 2018-2019 with the Saints, there are some former faces he may recognize from around the league currently on the Saints coaching staff as well.

First up is current Saints quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko, who worked with the Minnesota Vikings from 2015 to 2017, which overlaps with three of the four seasons Teddy Bridgewater played for the Vikings. While Janocko was not a quarterbacks coach at the time, he was an offensive quality control assistant for the first two of those seasons before moving to be an assistant offensive line coach, so they likely worked together in those first two seasons.

Another notable coaching overlap is current Saints senior offensive assistant Rick Dennison, who was the offensive line coach and run game coordinator in 2018 for the New York Jets, where Bridgewater spent his offseason before being traded to the Saints prior to the season.

Interim head coach Darren Rizzi and general manager Mickey Loomis would ultimately make the calls on any potential signing if one were in the works, and both of them were obviously here during the time frame Bridgewater was, and got to see how successful he was in the absence of Drew Brees during his thumb injury. We will see where Bridgewater ultimately ends up, but there are definitely a few notable ties between him and the current Saints staff (as well as the roster) worth noting.

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The highest-paid NBA coaches and how they compare to players

Last week, Sportico released its list of the highest-paid coaches in American sports, with NBA coaches well represented and led by the Warriors’ Steve Kerr. However, their yearly earnings pale in comparison to NBA players, with coaches’ salaries …

Last week, Sportico released its list of the highest-paid coaches in American sports, with NBA coaches well represented and led by the Warriors’ Steve Kerr.

However, their yearly earnings pale in comparison to NBA players, with coaches’ salaries more closely matching those of rank-and-file players in the league.

Check for yourself below:

Sorry, Baltimore: The Steelers didn’t want Diontae Johnson for good reason

While Baltimore may be excited to acquire Diontae Johnson from Carolina, the former Steelers WR carries a lot of baggage as well.

Memo to Ravens fans: Be careful what you wish for. While the Steel City faithful appreciate wide receiver Diontae Johnson’s efforts as an elite route-runner for Pittsburgh from 2019-2023, fans will be quick to remind Baltimore exactly why he was traded away to Carolina last offseason. 

Johnson struggled with making routine catches early in his career and bore more than his fair share of blame for drama in the Steel City, ranging from lack of effort on multiple plays to heated arguments with Steelers players and coaches. 

On a crucial play last season against the Cincinnati Bengals, running back Jaylen Warren fumbled the football, and Johnson seemingly walked away from the opportunity to recover it. His initial response left much to be desired: “I’m not perfect.” 

Johnson was also involved in a heated locker room argument with free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick after the safety took issue with Johnson’s treatment of the coaches on the sideline. 

Johnson was traded this week to the Baltimore Ravens from the Carolina Panthers, and he has certainly circled his new team’s Week 11 and Week 16 matchups with Pittsburgh.

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Mickey Loomis’ stance on coaching changes hasn’t changed in 20 years

Mickey Loomis’ old quotes from 20 years ago about a head coaching change feel awfully similar to his sentiments about Dennis Allen today:

Mickey Loomis recently clarified to all New Orleans Saints fans that they have to look beyond the results when evaluating Dennis Allen. Well, let’s apply that same premise to Loomis himself.

Loomis said, “I think good organizations do is you look beyond the results. What’s the reason for the results, and how do you fix the reasons that keep you from winning? It’s not always about the head coach. Sometimes it is, but it’s not always about that.”

Hesitancy to look at the head coach is part of Loomis’ process. He did the same thing with Jim Haslett. ESPN’s Katherine Terrell dug up some old quotes from Loomis from an interview in Jan 2004 when asked about potential coaching changes.

At the time, the Saints were .500 in a three year span. Loomis felt firing the coach was the easy route but not the right route. “The right thing to do is to stay the course,” Loomis elaborated. “Often times that is the hardest thing to do. But I think that’s what we need to do.”

Haslett may have earned the benefit of the doubt at the time. He went 10-6 and won the NFC South before struggling the next three years. Allen, on the other hand, hasn’t earned the benefit of the doubt beyond simply being around for years.

Regardless, if we’re looking at the process, this type of statement from Loomis seems on brand. He believed in weathering the storm 20 years ago. Every comment about Allen suggests Loomis feels the same way in the present day.

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Notre Dame adds new diving coach

Notre Dame diving has a new head coach.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have hired Josh Arndt as head diving coach.

Head swimming coach Chris Lindauer made the announcement.

“We are thrilled to add Josh to our staff!” Lindauer said in a statement. “He brings a wealth of experience in diving at the highest level. His commitment to the student-athlete experience was evident throughout the hiring process, and we are excited for him to bring a new perspective to our staff and team!”

Arndt has been the head diving coach at the University of Virginia and he was there while the Cavaliers won two national championships. Before that, Arndt worked at the University of Connecticut for three years as the head diving coach there.

For two of those three seasons, Arndt was the Big East Women’s Diving Coach of the Year. He began his coaching career at UMass.

Mar 23, 2012; Federal Way, WA, USA; A general view of the pool before the 2012 NCAA division I swimming championship at Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

“I am incredibly excited to join the Notre Dame family,” Ardnt said in a statement. “Growing up in the area, I have always held the University in high regard. I am honored and look forward to the opportunity to build alongside these phenomenal student-athletes and this staff.”

Arndt is a native of LaPorte, Ind. and he attended college at Indiana, where was an All-American in 2016. He also qualified for the Olympic Trials that year.

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