It took a few days of negotiations, but another former New Orleans Saints coach is joining Sean Payton’s coaching staff with the Denver Broncos, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. Underhill reports that Dan Dalrymple is joining the Broncos. Dalrymple was one of Payton’s first hires with the Saints back in 2006, and he spent 16 years with New Orleans as its strength and conditioning coach before being dismissed in 2022.
Dalrymple has won multiple NSCA Professional Coach of the Year awards during his time with the Saints, most recently in 2021. But head coach Dennis Allen wanted to go in a different direction, hiring Matt Rhea and Matt Clapp away from the Alabama Crimson Tide to run the weight room in New Orleans.
He’s the latest former Saints assistant joining Payton in Denver: the list now includes formerly-retired special teams coach Mike Westhoff, offensive assistant coach Declan Doyle, and offensive line assistant Zach Strief. Last year’s co-defensive coordinator Kris Richard also interviewed for the DC role on Payton’s staff, though he’s more of a longshot behind ESPN analyst and two-time NFL head coach Rex Ryan.
It’s worth noting that Strief and Doyle are the only members of this group the Saints hadn’t already chosen to move on from, or who had been comfortable on the golf course until Payton gave them a call. Some losses were to be expected but it’s not like Payton ripped the copper wire from the walls while cleaning out his desk.
