Two more defensive coaches are joining the New Orleans Saints.
As first reported on Friday night by CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz, the team is expected to hire Jay Rodgers and Robert Blanton for Brandon Staley's defensive staff. A source confirmed the news to Athlon Sports. Their specific job roles are not known at this time.
Jay Rodgers most recently spent a year in Atlanta with the Falcons as their defensive line coach. However, he was fired on Jan. 11 following the season. He was someone I thought could pair up with the Saints with the Brandon Staley direction.
Rodgers was hired by Staley in 2021 to be the team's outside linebackers coach and run game coordinator. The following two seasons he was the Los Angeles Chargers defensive line coach and run game coordinator, but was dismissed shortly after Staley's departure. The Saints are expected to move to a 3-4 base defense, so working with some familiarity could obviously help.
As for Robert Blanton, he's a former player who was drafted in 2012 by the Minnesota Vikings in the 5th Round after playing collegiately at Notre Dame. He played through half of the 2017 season, with his final stops being with the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills. He's been with the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks for the past several years, serving as the team's defensive pass game coordinator and safeties coach.
Kellen Moore's staff is certainly taking its final form as the NFL Scouting Combine comes to an end. Several college coaches are paired up with Brandon Staley in Bo Davis (defensive line), Peter Sirmon (linebackers) and Terry Joseph (secondary/defensive pass game coordinator).
