Tag: Joe Woods

Saints’ defensive coordinator set to join Pete Carroll and the Las Vegas Raiders

Saints set to move on from another current coach, as defensive coordinator Joe Woods is heading to the Las Vegas Raiders

The New Orleans Saints are truly clearing house from their 2024 coaching staff, as has been evident by many of their coaches leaving for new positions in recent weeks. With a new head coach coming in (Kellen Moore or otherwise), the Saints will look to build from the ground up, restarting from scratch. The most recent coach to leave is defensive coordinator Joe Woods, who is joining the Las Vegas Raiders, as reported by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Woods will be joining them with a lower-scale role, as he will be the defensive pass-game coordinator on Pete Carroll’s new staff. Woods had a tough year with the Saints as the DC, and when it comes down to it, it made sense for them to let him walk in favor of a new coordinator. The Saints now have all three major positions as head coach and both coordinator spots are now open, which allows them flexibility when it comes to building under whomever they wish to add as a head coach. This is somewhat the opposite of the Dennis Allen hiring, where most of the staff remained intact for a period of time.

Tracking Raiders coaching staff hires

The most up-to-date look at the Raiders new coaching staff under head coach Pete Carroll.

The Raiders coaching staff is filling up. There are still a lot of positions that have either not been filled or not reported yet. And, of course, there are some coaches who are still under contract, but who could still be let go should they add someone new at their position.

So, let’s gather them all into a list to see who is in place so far.

Head coach — Pete Carroll

Offense

Offensive Coordinator — Chip Kelly

Offensive line coach — Brennan Carroll

Quarterback coach — Greg Olson

Running backs coach — Deland McCullough

Wide receivers coach — Chris Beatty

Defense

Defensive coordinator — Patrick Graham (retained)

Defensive pass game coordinator — Joe Woods

Defensive line coach — Rob Leonard (retained)

Linebackers coach — John Glenn

Defensive assistant — Beyah Rasool

Special teams

Special teams coordinator — Tom McMahon (retained)

Other news:

Most coaches who we know will not be back, the team has hired their replacement. We know cornerbacks coach Ricky Manning Jr and safeties coach Gerald Alexander will not return, but we don’t yet know who their replacements will be.

Raiders hire familiar face as defensive pass game coordinator

One of Joe Woods’s first NFL opportunities came with the Raiders. Now he’s back with the Silver & Black under a new title.

For the better part of the past eight years Joe Woods has been an NFL Defensive Coordinator. But his career started as a defensive backs coach and among his early NFL jobs was with the Raiders. Now he’s back with the Raiders, given the title of defensive pass game coordinator.

Woods was the DC in New Orleans the past two seasons under Dennis Allen. It was under Allen in 2014 that Woods worked for the Raiders. And so he has twice seen Allen get fired midseason and had to move on.

Between his time with the Raiders and the Saints, Woods was a DB coach and then defensive coordinator in Denver, then defensive passing game coordinator in San Francisco while Robert Saleh was the DC and the 49ers made the Super Bowl that year.

After that, Woods was named DC in Cleveland (2020-22) before heading to the Saints in 2023.

Chase Young is putting it all together down the stretch with the Saints

An uptick in performance and diversifying his pass rush arsenal shows Chase Young is starting to put it together in New Orleans:

Chase Young was a huge addition for the New Orleans Saints in free agency. When he was signed, Young was looked at as the piece to take the Saints pass rush over the top.

That didn’t happen, and fans became critical of Young early in the season. When expectations are high, patience is low.

Over the last two weeks, however, Young has begun to put it together. He recorded a career-high 10 pressures against the New York Giants. Young, then, followed that up with two sacks against his former team, the Washington Commanders.

This was Young’s first multi-sack game since Week 7 of 2023. It was also an example of the defensive end finishing. He ranks high in the NFL in quarterback pressures, and in this game he was able to convert his pressures into sacks.

Joe Woods praised Young for diversifying his pass rush move set, as well. This has all been a part of the development of Young through the season. The manifestation of that is arguably his two best performances in a Saints jersey over the last two games. Soon the question will be whether the Saints can re-sign him so he can keep playing at a high level in black and gold.

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Jayden Daniels’ versatility is a huge challenge for Saints defense

Joe Woods understands Jayden Daniels can hurt you with arm and legs, but the Saints are stressing the need to keep him in the pocket:

Jayden Daniels’ ability to pass and run provides the New Orleans Saints with one of their most difficult challenges of the season.

New Orleans has a poor history of stopping quarterbacks from running the football. It’s been this way for years, and Daniels is the wrong quarterback to face when that’s one of your struggles.

Defensive coordinator Joe Woods recalled when he knew the Washington Commanders quarterback would transition to the league seamlessly. “One game against a really good team he had about 100 yards on three scrambles, so right then I was like this dude is going to be a problem.”

Daniels’ speed gives him the upper hand if he has to get to the edge. Woods told reporters “We’re going to have different ways to control him and keep him in the pocket.”

Woods was sure to highlight Daniels’ ability to throw at a high level, not just run. Woods said: “I think he’s a pocket passer. I think he goes through his progressions. I think he has the arm strength to make all the throws, very accurate on his deep balls.”

His running gets a lot of attention, but Daniels will threaten New Orleans’ defense through the air and on the ground.

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Saints DC Joe Woods on facing Giants star rookie Malik Nabers: ‘He’s special’

New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Joe Woods has high praise for Malik Nabers. The rookie is a special talent, and could be a problem on Sunday:

It didn’t take New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Joe Woods long to praise Malik Nabers. When asked about the New York Giants rookie wide receiver, the first thing out of Woods’ mouth was, “He’s special.”

Nabers was described by Woods as possessing “slot receiver movement skills, but has the size to play outside.” The combination of those skills makes him a difficult player to defend.

What may be the most concerning is Nabers’ ability to get yards after the catch. This is one of the wide receiver’s traits Woods singled out. The Saints have to be tight at the catch point and be a sure tacklers.

Woods reflects on seeing Nabers when scouting for defensive backs. “Part of when you’re evaluating guys coming out of college, like defensive backs, you want to see them play against the best receivers. A lot of defensive backs that I looked at if they played LSU, I was watching that game. I noticed him right away.”

If Nabers is able to play, he’ll be a challenge for Woods and his defense to slow down. The wideout is dealing with a hip injury suffered in practice this week that may keep him on the sidelines for Week 14.

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Saints linebacker’s role changed significantly after coaching change

Willie Gay saw zero snaps on Sunday despite the Saints’ struggles stopping the Rams’ rushing attack. His role has clearly changed since Dennis Allen was fired:

Willie Gay didn’t see a single defensive snap against the Los Angeles Rams. The first explanation you’d think of is the New Orleans Saints played more defensive backs to stop Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. It sounds good until you look at how Week 13 actually transpired.

The truth is the Saints couldn’t stop running backs Kyren Williams and Blake Corum on the ground. The Saints’ poor run defense was their biggest struggle on Sunday, and Willie Gay still didn’t see the field. You’d think he’d join Demario Davis and Pete Werner at some point.

Joe Woods replacing Dennis Allen as the defensive play caller directly coincides with a drop in Gay’s snaps. In the past three games, Gay’s snaps have went from 13 to 6 to 0. That consistent fall suggests Woods doesn’t see Gay as valuable an asset as Allen did. At the same time, we aren’t seeing other linebackers get those snaps. Davis and Werner were the only Saints linebackers to get on the field against the Rams.

Sunday’s game was the most glaring example of Gay’s absence. It’s hard to point at this being an aberration or the product of game planning when the snaps have dropped consistently. At this point it appears Gay is being phased out of the defense.

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ESPN argues Saints should make an unconventional pick from an SEC powerhouse

ESPN’s Matt Miller argues the Saints should make an unconventional pick from an SEC powerhouse in the 2025 NFL draft with Georgia tweener Jalon Walker:

What will the New Orleans Saints do in the 2025 NFL draft? It’s way too soon to say with certainty, but there’s no better time to speculate than the Saints’ bye week. With a defense built on aging talent moving slower and making fewer plays, one obvious area they should address is their pass rush.

Just ask ESPN’s Matt Miller. He argues the Saints should go to one of college football’s powerhouses with their first pick, even if Georgia star Jalon Walker’s immediate fit in the Joe Woods-coordinated defense is unclear:

There’s a lot of uncertainty in New Orleans, which will have a new coach after Dennis Allen’s midseason firing and has questions about quarterback Derek Carr‘s future. The Saints could use this pick to improve a defense that gives up 6.1 yards per play, second worst in the league. Plus, Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis will be 36 years old next season. Walker has played as an off-ball linebacker and off the edge. He doesn’t have great size, but his first-step speed and power have helped him to 5.5 sacks. I like him in a stand-up rushing role in a 3-4 scheme if New Orleans’ new regime goes that route.

The problem is the Saints don’t have a history of developing players like Walker — undersized edge rushers who are too light to play at defensive end with a hand in the dirt, but without the experience at dropping into coverage when stanced up off the ball at linebacker. Think of guys like Zack Baun and Martez Wilson, or Davis Tull and Ronald Powell in the later rounds.

At the same time, the Saints haven’t gotten much out of plug-and-play conventional defensive ends like Payton Turner and Isaiah Foskey, either (to say nothing of the failed Marcus Davenport experiment). And it could be a whole new coaching staff making these decisions by the time April gets here. While there’s good reason to have some skepticism about Walker’s fit with the established system and coaches the Saints have right now, he could end up being just who they need to turn things around.

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Aggression will be a part of the Saints’ culture under Darren Rizzi

Darren Rizzi expressed belief in being aggressive prior to last week, and showed he practices what he preaches. Don’t expect that to change:

For the rest of the year, you can expect the New Orleans Saints to be aggressive with their decision making.

After losing the last seven games under Dennis Allen, Darren’s Rizzi won his first game against the Atlanta Falcons. When you change head coaches in the middle of the year, sometimes you get an interim coach bump. Was that all it was? The Saints will have to prove that through the rest of the season.

Beyond rejuvenated energy, the Saints displayed an aggressiveness that will continue. When he was first announced as the interim head coach, Rizzi criticized Allen’s decision to not go for it on a fourth down versus the Carolina Panthers. That told us all we needed to know.

The Saints went for it on 4th-and-2 on the first drive. This was a predetermined decision coming into the game by Rizzi. He’s practicing what he preaches and is aiming to be aggressive.

He may not go for every fourth down, but his message to Klint Kubiak and Joe Woods was “we’re going to be aggressive play callers.” You saw that on the fourth down throw to Alvin Kamara.

The two most apparent aggressive decisions didn’t work, but Rizzi still strongly supports the decision. This is who he will be and, therefore who the Saints will be for the remainder of the season.

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Todd Grantham’s responsibilities are changing under Darren Rizzi

Todd Grantham’s responsibilities are changing under Darren Rizzi. He’s moving from defensive line coach to an advisor role:

Todd Grantham’s responsibilities are changing under New Orleans Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi. He’s moving from defensive line coach to a senior advisor role after the team dismissed Dennis Allen. Rizzi says Brian Young, a 15-year coaching veteran on staff as a pass-rush specialist, will run the defensive line room.

“It’s a shuffle. Shuffle the deck there a little bit on defense,” Rizzi told reporters Wednesday, when asked whether he would characterize these  changes as a demotion and promotion. “You have to understand the workload change because Dennis got removed. Dennis was, daily, in the defensive staff rooms so we quote-unquote lost a defensive coach. Not only a head coach, we lost the play caller. Now Joe, who is doing his stuff, he’s now coordinating, his workload changes. His day-to-day workload the fans may not understand completely, we just re-divvy it up. I just felt this was the best way to shuffle the deck there.”

Grantham’s focus will be advising defensive coordinator Joe Woods as he begins calling plays in Allen’s stead; it’s a less hands-on role than what he’s had here before. That isn’t the only change on the defensive side of the ball, but it is the most notable. Young will work with linebackers coach Michael Hodges to coordinate the defensive run game each week.

But change was needed. The Saints were on pace to set an NFL record for the most yards allowed before contact on running plays, which was a direct reflection on Grantham’s unit. The defensive line was getting pushed off the ball and not making plays. The lack of development for young draft picks like Payton Turner and Isaiah Foskey speaks for itself, even if Rizzi took the high road here.

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