Saints Hire Gregg Williams

It's apparently a good thing if the Green Bay Packers want you to run their defense. First, former San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan spurned the Packers to become defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos.

Now, former Titans, Redskins, and Jaguars coordinator Gregg Williams has turned aside the overtures of Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy. Instead of going to Green Bay, Williams has decided to go to New Orleans and work with the Saints.

Williams takes over a unit that simply hasn't performed very well the last couple of years. The Saints have been in the bottom third of the NFL in yards and points allowed each of the last two seasons, and they've failed to make the playoffs either year despite having a top-notch offense.

Saints head coach Sean Payton, whose pedigree is on the offensive side, is understandably psyched.

"A lot has gone into this decision, and we targeted Gregg as the coach we'd like to hire after our first interview because he was so impressive and prepared," said Payton. "As an offensive coach, I have game-planned against his defenses in the past, and I know the problems they create. He's an aggressive coach, but his units are always sound fundamentally. We have some pieces in place for him to work with, and I know he's excited to get started."

Can't really blame Payton for being excited, as he surely understands that his team was a defense away from being a playoff team this year.

As for Green Bay, this means they're on to a third option for coordinator. The Packers Blog believes it's Jim Haslett, the interim coach in St. Louis. He's still in the running for the full-time head coach position in St. Louis, but not many people think he's really going to get it.

The longer this goes on, the more Packer fans better hope that former coordinator Bob Sanders really was the problem, as it's not often good when your team tries to replace a coach and whiffs on their first two choices.