The New Orleans Saints have the first coordinator on Kellen Moore's staff set, and it's a name fans will recognize.
The team was finalizing a deal on Wednesday to promote former special teams assistant Phil Galiano into the coordinator role, according to reports. It's the first non offensive coaching hire reported this cycle, with several more to come on the defensive side of the ball.
Galiano took on the full coordinator role following the firing of Dennis Allen after Week 9, and Darren Rizzi taking over as the interim head coach. Rizzi was a finalist for the Saints head coaching job that ultimately went to Moore. Rizzi has since departed to join Sean Payton's Broncos staff as their special teams coordinator, and he is brining along Marwan Maalouf, who joined the Saints as an assistant midway through the season.
The hire is one of several that's been reported this week, though the team is still yet to land on an offensive or defensive coordinator. The Saints have reportedly hired Scott Tolzien as QBs coach, Joel Thomas as RBs coach, Brendan Nugent as OL coach, Chase Haslett as TE coach and TJ Paganetti in an offensive assistant role.
Veteran coach Doug Nussmeier is projected as the favorite to be the next OC, having coached with Moore as QBs coach for the Cowboys, Chargers and this past season with the Eagles.
The Saints have interviewed multiple candidates for the DC role, with the presumptive favorite being former Chargers head coach Brandon Staley. Interviews have also been set with Vikings DBs coach Daronte Jones and Eagles DBs coach Christian Parker. All three candidates have extensive experience in 3-4 schemes, projecting a likely defensive scheme shift that could dominate conversations around the draft and scouting events.
