The New Orleans Saints lost linebackers coach Mike Nolan to the Dallas Cowboys back in January, where he’ll work with new head coach Mike McCarthy as defensive coordinator. While the Saints took their time in making it official, there was little doubt about the direction they’d take in replacing Nolan.
On Monday, The Scouting Academy’s Dan Hatman reported that assistant linebackers coach Michael Hodges was getting promoted to Nolan’s spot. This move was confirmed by independent Saints reporter Nick Underhill and Nola.com’s Amy Just.
It’s been a long time coming. The Athletic’s Katherine Terrell reported that Hodges was running point for the Saints at last month’s Senior Bowl by conducting interviews with linebacker prospects. Hodges has been with the Saints since 2017, climbing the ladder from a defensive assistant post to assistant linebackers coach in 2019, and now he’s running the show at that position group. He has his work cut for him with starters Alex Anzalone and Kiko Alonso returning from injured reserve, but things should be fine with first-team All-Pro linebacker Demario Davis leading the unit.
This change should be the only big shakeup on the Saints coaching staff this offseason. They lost just two coaches in this year’s hiring cycle, with Nolan leaving for Dallas and assistant defensive backs coach Leigh Torrence joining the New York Jets. With a largely-intact coaching staff and a talent-rich roster, the Saints are clearly expecting to run it back again in 2020.
