Saints making big change to coaching staff

Dec 19, 2021; Tampa, Florida, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen serves as head coach as Sean Payton has Covid-19 during the second half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The New Orleans Saints are making a somewhat surprising change to their coaching staff.

The Saints are parting ways with co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Kris Richard, according to Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

The #Saints parted ways with co-defensive coordinator/secondary Kris Richard, sources tell me and @RapSheet.

New Orleans' other co-DC, Ryan Nielsen, recently took the DC job in Atlanta. Significant changes on D.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 1, 2023

The decision is made more surprising after Ryan Nielsen, the team’s other co-defensive coordinator last season, left for the Atlanta Falcons last week. This essentially means the Saints will be bringing in a completely overhauled defensive staff for the 2023 season.

Richard rose to notoriety as the Seattle Seahawks’ secondary coach and later defensive coordinator during the “Legion of Boom” era. He has also spent time as an assistant with the Dallas Cowboys, and has been the Saints’ defensive coordinator for each of the last two seasons.

Richard should find a soft landing as an assistant coach elsewhere. After all, it was not that long ago he was considered a head coaching candidate, and it is not as if the Saints were particularly poor defensively in 2022.