Report: Jeff Ireland joining Saints personnel department
Posted by Josh Alper on January 20, 2015, 9:56 AM EST
The Saints lost a couple of members of their personnel department to the Bears recently and they’ve reportedly brought in a familiar name to help them move forward in the 2015 season.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Saints are hiring former Dolphins General Manager Jeff Ireland to do college scouting for the team. The Saints saw director of pro personnel Ryan Pace become the General Manager in Chicago and he took area scout Josh Lucas with him to be the Bears’ director of player personnel.
Ireland was fired by the Dolphins following the 2013 season after six years on the job. Those years were filled with increasing amounts of fan discontent with Ireland’s performance, leading to airplane banners over Sun Life Stadium and few tears when owner Stephen Ross decided to make a change last season.
Ireland was a draft consultant for the Seahawks after getting fired last year, but it didn’t turn into a long-term position with the club. He and Saints coach Sean Payton both worked for the Cowboys at the same time in the early 2000s.
Evan Woodbery of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis said he didn’t know what reporters were talking about when asked about Schefter’s report. Loomis, who is in Mobile for the Senior Bowl, is expected to have an extended chat with the media later this week.