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Reunited are former assistant coaches of the New Orleans Saints, according to sources. The Jacksonville Jaguars are reportedly signing Kris Richard, a former defensive coach for the Saints, according to NFL Insider Aaron Wilson. This occurs just one day after Ryan Nielsen, a former defensive assistant for New Orleans, was hired by the Jaguars to serve as their new defensive coordinator.
Last season, Jacksonville’s overall defence rating was 22nd. They ranked ninth against the run, a pitiful 26th against the pass, and 17th in terms of points allowed. The Jaguars lost five of six games to just miss the playoffs after giving up 28 points or more in four of their previous six games.
For two years, in 2021 and 2022, Richard and Nielsen served as defensive coordinators for the New Orleans team. In 2022, during Dennis Allen’s first season as head coach of the squad, they served as co-coordinators for the defence. Nielsen spent the previous season as the Atlanta Falcons’ defensive coordinator. Richard didn’t play football the previous year. From 1998 to 2001, the two were teammates at USC during their college careers.
The Saints hired 44-year-old Nielsen as their first NFL coach in 2017. Under head coach Sean Payton and coordinator Dennis Allen, he served as the team’s defensive line coach from 2017 to 2021. After Allen was elevated to head coach and Payton resigned, he was elevated to co-defensive coordinator. Under Nielsen, Atlanta’s defence finished the previous season ranked eighth against the pass, 18th in points allowed, and 11th in total yardage.
In 2022, Richard, 45, was promoted to co-defensive coordinator alongside Nielsen after being recruited by New Orleans as a defensive backs coach in 2021. He spent two seasons as the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive backs coach before joining the Saints. Prior to that, he spent eight seasons with the Seattle Seahawks as a defensive assistant, serving as defensive coordinator from 2015 to 2017.
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