As coaching staffs get rebuilt around the NFL, the New Orleans Saints have no made many changes on the offensive side of the football. One change they did make was moving on from tight ends coach and run game coordinator Dan Roushar and now it looks like the team is closing in on his replacement. As first reported by Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football, the Saints are nearing a deal with long-time NFL position coach Clancy Barone as their next tight ends coach.
Barone has a ton of NFL experience working with various teams since 2004. He has worked with Pro Bowl tight ends like Alge Crumpler, Antonio Gates, Julius Thomas, and Kyle Rudolph. He also follows the trend of overlap with head coach Dennis Allen and his colleagues. Barone coached at Texas A&M while Allen was a player, overlapped with Allen with the Denver Broncos in 2011 and also spent time with recently-hired Saints defensive coordinator Joe Woods in Denver in 2015 and 2016.
He also has five years of NFL playing experience, a piece the Saints covet in coaches. During his years with Crumpler, Gates and Rudolph each tight end went on to a Pro Bowl while working with Barone and Crumpler and Gate led their teams in receptions each year. Should the Saints get the deal done with Barone, a push to retain Juwan Johnson who is a restricted free agent would certainly pick up some steam. Barone has a successful track record that Johnson and 2020 third-round tight end Adam Trautman could benefit from working with him.