Kris Richard, who is out of the NFL this season, will be teamed with Ryan Nielsen again in 2024. The two former Saints co-defensive coordinators will reunite in Jacksonville.
According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, the Jaguars have added Richard to their staff. Between 2021 and 2022, the two worked in New Orleans together. Richard is most renowned for his career as the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator, which has helped him stay on the HC carousel. The 44-year-old assistant, who interviewed for the Raiders’ head coaching position earlier this month (though he did not appear to be a serious candidate), will continue his duties while the Jags retool their defense.
Richard served as the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator for three seasons, although he was in Seattle during the Legion of Boom’s tenure. Richard was the most constant non- Pete Carroll presence on those teams, rising from assistant defensive backs coach to cornerbacks coach to defensive backs coach to defensive coordinator.
Coaching staffs. The Earl Thomas-Richard Sherman-Kam Chancellor mentor has not progressed as far as Gus Bradley or Dan Quinn, but he has remained a fixture on defensive staffs since his departure from Seattle in 2018.
The Seahawks completed four consecutive seasons as the NFL’s top scoring defense, behind only the 1950s Browns in doing so. Richard served as a defensive backs teacher in two Super Bowls, the latter of which took place in 2015. The Seattle defense has not hit such heights since, and it has declined since Richard was ousted after the 2017 season. Richard played two seasons for the Cowboys (2018-19) before resurfacing in New Orleans. This was Richard’s second offseason in five years; he did not coach in 2020.
According to Wilson, the Jaguars will also hire Cory Robinson as cornerbacks coach. This continues the Saints reunion in Jacksonville. Robinson spent the previous season with the Tennessee Volunteers, but in 2022, he will serve as an assistant defensive backs coach with the Saints alongside Nielsen and Richard. Robinson held the position in New Orleans for three years.
