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Katherine Terrell
NEW ORLEANS — The Saints are hiring former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley as their defensive coordinator, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jeremy Fowler.
Staley will be Saints coach Kellen Moore’s third coordinator hire this week. Sources told ESPN the Saints are expected to hire Eagles quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier to be their offensive coordinator. They offered the special teams coordinator position to Phil Galiano, who was previously the Saints assistant special teams coordinator under Darren Rizzi.
Staley and Nussmeier both have previous ties to Moore and have been considered potential targets for the vacant positions for several weeks.
Moore was the Eagles offensive coordinator last season, and he and Nussmeier helped the team win Super Bowl LIX against the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 9. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was named Super Bowl MVP.
Nussmeier was an assistant coach under Moore when he was the Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2022 and during his lone season with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2023.
Staley, 42, was the Chargers head coach from 2021 to 2023 and hired Moore to be his offensive coordinator in his final season. He and Chargers general manager Tom Telesco were fired Dec. 15, 2023, after a 5-9 start to the season and a 63-21 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Staley spent the 2024 season as the San Francisco 49ers assistant head coach. Prior to his stint with the Chargers, he was the Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator in 2020. The Rams led the league in scoring defense and total defense that season, finishing 10-6 before losing in the NFC divisional round of the playoffs.