Tag: michael hodges

Kaden Elliss talks injury progress, new Saints linebackers coach Michael Hodges

New Orleans Saints linebacker Kaden Elliss saw his rookie year ended by injury, but he’s working to return in 2020 and work with a new coach

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New Orleans Saints linebacker Kaden Elliss didn’t have quite the rookie he anticipated last season, going down in Week 3 with a torn ACL. He’s been diligently rehabbing his surgically-repaired knee, and took some time to speak with host Chris Rosgovlou on the “Straight-Up Saints” podcast about his experience. Last year’s seventh-round pick out of Idaho also shared his take on the Saints’ replacement for linebackers coach Mike Nolan, who was hired away by the Dallas Cowboys.

Nolan was succeeded by his former assistant, Michael Hodges. And that’s a move that Elliss welcomed, having seen firsthand the work Hodges had put in to earn it. Elliss said, “I’m so excited about Coach Hodges getting that promotion. He’s an amazing guy and has such a hunger and passion to get better everyday. The move [Nolan to Dallas] is what it is — it’s a business. But I’m also very excited where we are. I’m super excited to have Coach Hodges running this room and I know the other guys are too.”

Like teammate Alex Anzalone, who recently announced that he was “Good to go,” following 2019 shoulder surgery, Elliss is eager to get back on the field. While he projects as a backup middle linebacker in 2020 (filling in as Anzalone’s understudy, incidentally), Elliss was also a prominent member of the special teams units during his brief appearances early last season. He also suggested this year’s organized team activities as a potential return date.

Elliss continued, “I’m working down here with the staff and they’re doing an awesome job helping me get better than I’ve ever been. It’s been a goal of mine to be ready for OTAs. We’re still working toward that goal, but we’ve got a little while longer to see how a couple more things go.”

The Saints typically hold OTAs in late May and early June, following weekend-long rookie minicamp practices. This gives them an opportunity to fill out the offseason 90-man roster while auditioning undrafted rookies and veteran free agents. If Elliss is able to suit up, it would give the coaching staff a great barometer of where he’s at as a player post-surgery, and where he might be able to slot in for 2020. With a familiar presence on hand in Hodges, it’s a safe bet that the Saints will do what they can to put Elliss in the best position to succeed.

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Saints to hire Maryland coach Cory Robinson to defensive staff

The New Orleans Saints are expected to hire Maryland Terrapins coach Cory Robinson, a respected defensive assistant from the college ranks.

The New Orleans Saints appear to have filled the vacancy left by assistant defensive backs coach Leigh Torrence, with Maryland defensive passing game coordinator and cornerbacks coach Cory Robinson set to join them. News of Robinson’s addition was first reported by AL.com’s Matt Zenitz, which was confirmed by Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football.

Torrence left for a higher position with the New York Jets, rejoining defensive coordinator Gregg Williams (who Torrence once played for when they were both with the Saints, back in the early 2010’s). It’s a bit of a surprise that the Saints added someone to replace him this late in the game, but they obviously value having as many eyes as possible on the back end of the defense. He’ll work with secondary coach Aaron Glenn and senior defensive assistant Peter Giunta.

But let’s circle back to Robinson. He joined Maryland coach Michael Locksley’s staff just a year ago, having first worked as the Terps’ director of player personnel back in 2015. Sandwiched in-between were stops at Toledo (2016), Temple (2017), and Rutgers (2018), as cornerbacks coach.

This feels similar to the addition of defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen back in 2017. Like Robinson, Nielsen was a highly-regarded position coach who had earned a promotion to the NFL by successfully recruiting and developing talented athletes. Nielsen has done a great job coaching up inexperienced players like David Onyemata and Marcus Davenport; now, Robinson will get the same opportunity.

The Saints will go into the 2020 season with their coaching staff largely intact. While linebackers coach Mike Nolan was hired away by the Dallas Cowboys as their new defensive coordinator, the Saints made an in-house promotion to elevate Michael Hodges into that spot. With Robinson filling in for Torrence, New Orleans is poised to run it back one more time.

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Saints make in-house promotion to replace Mike Nolan

The New Orleans Saints promoted linebackers coach Michael Hodges to replace Mike Nolan, who joined Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.

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The New Orleans Saints lost linebackers coach Mike Nolan to the Dallas Cowboys back in January, where he’ll work with new head coach Mike McCarthy as defensive coordinator. While the Saints took their time in making it official, there was little doubt about the direction they’d take in replacing Nolan.

On Monday, The Scouting Academy’s Dan Hatman reported that assistant linebackers coach Michael Hodges was getting promoted to Nolan’s spot. This move was confirmed by independent Saints reporter Nick Underhill and Nola.com’s Amy Just.

It’s been a long time coming. The Athletic’s Katherine Terrell reported that Hodges was running point for the Saints at last month’s Senior Bowl by conducting interviews with linebacker prospects. Hodges has been with the Saints since 2017, climbing the ladder from a defensive assistant post to assistant linebackers coach in 2019, and now he’s running the show at that position group. He has his work cut for him with starters Alex Anzalone and Kiko Alonso returning from injured reserve, but things should be fine with first-team All-Pro linebacker Demario Davis leading the unit.

This change should be the only big shakeup on the Saints coaching staff this offseason. They lost just two coaches in this year’s hiring cycle, with Nolan leaving for Dallas and assistant defensive backs coach Leigh Torrence joining the New York Jets. With a largely-intact coaching staff and a talent-rich roster, the Saints are clearly expecting to run it back again in 2020.

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