There we go: the New Orleans Saints have found their way forward at defensive coordinator, filling the void left by Dennis Allen’s promotion to head coach by naming two of his key assistants to the job. Saints defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen and secondary coach Kris Richard will work as co-defensive coordinators in 2022.
The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman first reported that Nielsen has signed a two-year contract in accepting the co-defensive coordinator title, which was confirmed by ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg who added that Richard was elevated to the same position. The Saints brought in several outside candidates for the job, but ultimately opted to put coaches already on staff into a bigger spot. It continues a theme of maintaining continuity in the post-Sean Payton era.
This move was expected given all the chatter about it in recent days, and it might be what’s best for everyone. Allen has two voices he trusts to help shoulder the load in managing a defense they’ve built together while he handles larger responsibilities as head coach. And both Nielsen and Richard are coaches on the rise — Nielsen has had multiple offers to work as a defensive coordinator at the college and NFL level, while Richard interviewed for that post with three different teams this offseason alone.
So how will it work in practice? Expect Nielsen and Richard to help craft the game plan each week with Allen, but they could split responsibilities calling plays early in the season to find the best combination. Maybe you have Nielsen handle first and second downs while Richard takes third downs and red zone possessions, and then switch it the next week. Allen could also choose to stay on the mic in communicating with his defense most often. It’s going to take some time to figure out, but the Saints wouldn’t have taken this route if they didn’t have a plan.
Putting them into this position also puts them on track to maybe become head coaches of their own someday. It’s tough to go from being a position coach to a head coach, but spending a year or two helping to run a wildly successful unit as a coordinator would really juice up their resumes. We’ll have to wait and see if these guys can maintain the success they’ve found before, but it’s a good situation to work with.
