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What Saints assistant Ryan Nielsen said about departure of coach Sean Payton, offseason changes

chris singleton, the courier
·3 min read

Ryan Nielsen has spent most of the summer working with NFL players as the co-defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints.

But for four days every summer, he has dedicated his time toward giving tips to over 600 high school football players at the Louisiana Line Camp held at Nicholls in Thibodaux from June 18-21.

Nielsen said he enjoys spending time with the young generation of football players.

“Coming out here with the high school guys, you are coaching them exactly how we coach our NFL players,” Nielsen said. “We’re giving them everything that we have to improve them.”

Nielsen was one of many NFL assistant coaches in attendance, including Pro Football Hall of Famer Kevin Mawae of the Indianapolis Colts, Brendan Daly of the Kansas City Chiefs and Austin Clark of the Miami Dolphins. The camp, which started in 1987, is led by longtime area football coaches Don Rodrigue and Pete Jenkins, a former defensive line coach with LSU and in the NFL.

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Nielsen said he looks forward to teaching fundamentals every year to the campers.

“This is the best fundamental camp in the country,” Nielsen said. “It’s a pleasure to be a part of it. We’ve got a great coaching staff led by Coach Jenkins. A lot of teaching and fundamental work. It’s awesome. You look forward to it every year. It’s one of the great things about coming down here.”

Rodrigue said it is great for the high school coaches to work with NFL coaches.

"I keep saying the biggest asset to our camp is our local high school coaches," Rodrigue said. "Those guys are passionate and you love watching them work. When you have the namesake NFL guys here, they add on it.

Saints co-defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen (left) instructs a high school football player during the Louisiana Line Camp held at Nicholls in Thibodaux from June 18-21.
Saints co-defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen (left) instructs a high school football player during the Louisiana Line Camp held at Nicholls in Thibodaux from June 18-21.

"When they get together, those high school coaches are picking the brains of those guys. They are teachers. They know how to teach the fundamentals and get their message across. The young men can take it back to their high schools and be productive."

Nielsen and the Saints are going through a time of transition after the departure of Sean Payton, who left the team after 16 seasons in January. Payton led the Saints to the 2009 Super Bowl championship.

The Saints hired defensive coordinator Dennis Allen as head coach and promoted assistants Nielson and Kris Richard to co-defensive coordinators.

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Nielsen said they have adjusted to the coaching moves.

“The organization has had a lot of success in the last five years,” Nielsen said. “The transition was seamless. With Dennis moving up, the staff pretty much stayed intact. Everybody knows the expectations, so that’s how things have it made it a seamless transition. We all know each other.”

Nielsen, who spent six seasons as the Saints' defensive line coach, helped New Orleans compile 233 sacks since 2017, which ranks third in the NFL in that timespan. They have ranked in the top 10 in sacks four of five seasons and have finished in the top five in run defense the last four campaigns.

Nielsen said the credit goes to the players for the Saints improvements on defense.

“Our players take pride. They want to be the best," Nielsen said. "They work and they practice hard. We’ve had great turnout at OTAs and minicamp. The effort and energy those guys bring every it’s easy to coach them. When you have good players that are so in, it’s exciting to work with."

The Saints missed the playoffs with a 9-8 record in 2021 season. After the offseason additions of defensive backs Tyrann Mathieu and Marcus Maye and receiver Jarvis Landry, Nielsen said he believes they're back on track.

“The goal is to win a Super Bowl every year right," Nielsen said. "The first step is to make the playoffs and win your division. That’s our goal every year. It’s going to be our main focus."

Reach Chris Singleton at 985-857-2213 or chris.singleton@houmatoday.com and on Twitter @courierchris.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: New Orleans Saints: Ryan Nielsen on Sean Payton, Dennis Allen