The New Orleans Saints have been mining the college ranks to build out their defensive staff, and that will include a trip down I-10 for their new defensive line coach.
The Saints have reportedly agreed to terms with Bo Davis to jump from college to the NFL after a year serving as defensive line coach on the Tigers staff to fill the same role on Kellen Moore's staff. Legendary DL coach Pete Jenkins, who knows Davis well, joined Mike Detillier on WWL this week to break down the decision.
“He just brings some toughness with him," Jenkins said, "and he’ll bring that to the Saints. ... Everywhere he’s been, he has done a good job.”
Listen to the full interview with Pete Jenkins in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
Those stints have included multiple stops at LSU, where he played under Jenkins as a coach, as well as Alabama, Texas and UTSA. He's also had stints in the NFL with the Dolphins, Jaguars and Lions.
Jenkins relayed the Davis had called him multiple times over the past week to mull over the decision, which was a difficult one. The pay was similar between the jobs, it came down to opportunity.
“It wasn’t an easy decision for Bo," Jenkins continued. "He put a lot of thought into it and really he was excited but he, you know, the boy played here and he loves LSU and it was a tough decision. He’ll do very well, though."
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Davis will join a defensive staff led by former Chargers head coach Brandon Staley, with the current hires also including longtime college assistant and New Orleans native Terry Joseph as defensive pass game coordinator and former Cal defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon as linebackers coach.
It's unclear whether longtime pass rush specialist Brian Young will remain on the staff in that capacity. Young took over the DL coach role midway through the season when Todd Grantham was transitioned into an advisor role and later departed to become the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State.
"Bo brings a quiet toughness with him, OK, and by that I mean ... he just has a way about him," Jenkins continued. "Coach [Nick] Saban told me, he lost Bo to Texas and then he got Bo back, and coach Saban told me once ‘we have been a tougher defense since Bo has been back.’ "
The Saints will certainly hope that they can be a tougher defense under Davis' leadership in this coming season.