Saints lose assistant coach D.J. Williams to the Falcons

The Saints are losing assistant coach D.J. Williams to the Falcons. He was a big supporter of Jake Haener, having coached the QB at last year’s Senior Bowl:

Good luck out there D.J. Williams — you’ll need it on the Atlanta Falcons. Rod Walker first reported for the Times-Picayune | Advocate that Williams, the longtime New Orleans Saints offensive assistant coach, will be leaving to join the Falcons under head coach Raheem Morris. He’ll take over as as their new assistant quarterbacks coach after initially being offered a different role on staff in New Orleans.

A standout college quarterback himself at Grambling State, Williams worked closely with the passers and was someone Derek Carr spoke of highly last season. He had been with the Saints since the 2017 season. He also represented the Saints at the 2023 Senior Bowl coaching quarterbacks on the National Team roster; a group which included Jake Haener, who the Saints traded up to draft in the fourth round last offseason. With Williams leaving town, Haener is losing a big supporter.

So why let him go? Incoming offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is expected to sign his contract and be formally introduced by the Saints after his San Francisco 49ers are finished competing in Super Bowl LVIII, and he must have someone else in mind for the job as an offensive assistant working with the quarterbacks. That’s the job his brother Klay has held with the 49ers but it’s unclear whether they would block a move to join the Saints as an assistant. We’ll get a better idea of who Kubiak wants on his staff after he’s officially hired next week.

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