This is cool: the New Orleans Saints announced a couple of staff changes and additions on Tuesday, with the most notable news being a promotion for Khai Harley. The salary cap specialist still retains his title as vice president of football operations — but he’s now pulling double-duty as their assistant general manager.
Mickey Loomis is still on top of the organizational chart as general manager and executive vice president, but Harley now shares a title with Jeff Ireland as assistant GM to Loomis. Ireland’s main focus remains on the college scouting department, but now both he and Harley carry the assistant GM title.
Loomis is the longest-tenured general manager in the league. He’ll turn 67 this year. He won’t be around forever, and it’s very possible that the Saints are setting up someone like Harley to succeed him in a couple of years. Ireland also has experience at the top of the organization from his six-year run with the Miami Dolphins. Either way, this promotion is a well-deserved recognition for a key member of the front office. Harley has done a great job navigating the salary cap and the CBA to keep the Saints competitive year in and year out.
What about the other moves? For the most part, the Saints confirmed additions who were previously reported during the summer like defensive assistant coach Matt Giordano, analytics director Zach Stuart, and football administration director Scott Kuhn. They also shuffled the scouting department with Matt Phillips becoming an area scout and Will Martinez taking over as NFL combine scout.
But a couple of other new hires stand out. Former Louisiana Tech assistant to the head coach and NFL liaison Ziad Qubti is joining the team as their new college scouting coordinator under Ireland, with Rishi Desai (former Ole Miss director of scouting and an LSU graduate) also joining the scouting department. It’s good to see minority candidates getting these opportunities, especially with the NFL awarding compensatory draft picks when they’re hired to executive positions. If they help the organization find good players and develop into sought-after GM candidates in their own right, them leaving someday would bring back valuable draft assets to New Orleans. It’s a win-win.
