The New Orleans Saints will be hiring Grady Brown to their defensive staff, according to reports on Monday.
This was first reported by Matt Zenitz and CBS Sports. Brown is one of the few veteran coaches that will be joining new head coach Kellen Moore and defensive coordinator Brandon Staley on the defensive staff.
Brown had been the defensive backs coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2021. His contract was not renewed after the season, despite the fact that the Steelers were third in the NFL with 17 interceptions. He also interviewed for the vacant defensive coordinator position with the Atlanta Falcons this offseason.
Prior to joining the Steelers, Brown had been a defensive assistant with five different collegiate programs since 2009. He was also a defensive back at Alabama A&M and had served as a coaching intern with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2007 and Seattle Seahawks in 2004.
Brown was a defensive quality control coach for LSU in 2009. He'd move on to be the cornerback coach at Southern Mississippi from 2010 to 2011. After that, he was the secondary coach for South Carolina from 2012 through the 2015 season.
Louisville brought Brown in as their cornerback coach and recruiting coordinator in 2018. After one year in that position, he'd be the co-defensive coordinator at Old Dominion in 2019 before accepting the spot with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
New Orleans finished 27th in pass defense this past season. The Saints intercepted 14 passes, but allowed an average of 238.5 passing yards per game and 62% completion percentage to opposing quarterbacks. New Orleans had a top-10 defense against the pass in three of the previous four seasons.
It isn't immediately clear what role Grady Brown will have for the Saints. New Orleans has also hired Terry Joseph as secondary coach/passing game coordinator and former Miami (OH) safety coach Robert Blanton.
