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Former Saints assistant Mike Nolan named head coach of USFL team

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One former New Orleans Saints assistant coach made headlines on Friday morning, with the USFL’s Michigan Panthers announcing that Mike Nolan has been named their head coach. Nolan replaces Jeff Fisher, who stepped down citing personal reasons.

Nolan coached the Saints linebackers from 2017 to 2019 before leaving for the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator job in 2020; he was let go after the season, but has since returned to lead one of the startup spring league’s eight teams. He was a respected defensive assistant in New Orleans and played a big part in scouting, drafting, and developing players like Alex Anzalone and Kaden Elliss.

While the USFL has used nominally based each of its teams in different cities around the country, they have used a “hub” model in the first season with all games played in Birmingham, Ala. with plans to expand to home venues by 2024. The Panthers expect to play their home games from Ford Field in Detroit. They went 2-8 in 2022 but led the USFL in passing yards per game. Maybe Nolan can build off of that.

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