Meet Director of Sports Performance Ted Rath
Ted Rath, who brings over 15 years of NFL strength and conditioning experience, enters his first season in New Orleans as director of sports performance.
Rath comes to New Orleans after four seasons directing the strength and conditioning efforts of the Philadelphia Eagles. He originally joined the team as the director of sports performance in 2020 and was promoted to vice president of player performance in 2021. During his four full seasons in Philadelphia, the Eagles reached the playoffs three times with Rath overseeing the team's strength and conditioning program. In 2022, when the Eagles reached Super Bowl LVII, he was named the Strength Coach of the Year by the Professional Football Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association for the second time in his career, an award voted on by the league's strength and conditioning coaches.
In 2017, the first season of his three-year tenure with the Los Angeles Rams, Rath was named the Strength Coach of the Year for the first time, when according to Football Outsiders, Los Angeles finished as the healthiest team in the NFL based on adjusted games lost due to injury. Coming to Los Angeles as head strength and conditioning Coach, Rath was promoted to director of strength training/performance in 2018.
Before his stint with the Rams, Rath spent one season as the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Miami Dolphins (2016) and seven seasons in the same role with the Detroit Lions (2009-15).
The Dundee, Mich., native played linebacker at the University of Toledo from 2003-06 and went on to be the assistant director of strength and conditioning at his alma mater in 2008 before entering the NFL.
In 2024, Rath released his first book, "Beyond Comfort: Mastering a Growth Mindset with Excellence Through Urgency."
Rath is married to his high school sweetheart Robin and the couple have three children Brooklyn, Brady and Emmy.
Meet Strength and Conditioning Staff Charles Byrd
Charles Byrd enters his 16th season as a member of the Saints strength and conditioning staff, playing an important role in implementing the team's program, with specialized phases in the offseason, preseason and regular season.
Byrd is in his 18th season as a coach and 16th in the NFL after stints on the offseason and training camp rosters of the Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, Washington Commanders and New York Giants from 2005-06 as a defensive back, also playing for the Arena Football League's Las Vegas Gladiators in 2006. He started as a strength and conditioning intern at Miami University (Ohio) in 2006, becoming a graduate assistant in his final year with the Redhawks before coming to New Orleans.
Byrd graduated from Morehead State University in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in university studies, where he played both in the secondary and as a kickoff returner from 2001-04. The Oxford, Ohio native earned Division I-AA Mid-Major All-America honors for two straight seasons. A team captain and three-year starter, he helped the Eagles to three consecutive Pioneer Football League Southern Division championships.
Meet Strength and Conditioning Staff Riley Ireland
Riley Ireland enters his second season with the New Orleans Saints' strength and conditioning staff, where he plays an integral role in delivering the team's training program across the offseason, preseason, and regular season under new Director of Sports Performance, Ted Rath.
Ireland's time with the Saints began as a football operations intern during the summers from 2018 to 2022. He went on to serve as a strength and conditioning intern with LSU Football in the spring of 2023 before returning to the Saints as a sport science intern for the 2023 season and the spring of 2024.
A 2024 graduate of LSU, Ireland holds the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) credential through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). He is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Kinesiology with a concentration in Corrective Exercise and Orthopedic Rehabilitation from A.T. Still University.
Meet Strength and Conditioning Staff Luke Lancaster
Luke Lancaster enters his first season with the Saints' strength and conditioning staff, serving a key role in delivering the team's training and performance program throughout the year under Director of Sports Performance, Ted Rath.
Prior to New Orleans, Lancaster spent the last seven years at Abilene Christian University, where he most recently served as the associate athletic director for sports performance for seven months, after being hired as director of sports performance in January 2018. As part of his duties, he was responsible for the day-to-day strength and conditioning needs for the Wildcats football program. Prior to his tenure in Abilene, he served as a staff assistant for the Miami Dolphins, Harvard University, and University of Missouri strength and conditioning staffs, also helping with sports science and nutrition.
Prior to serving as a strength and conditioning staff assistant for the Dolphins for the 2016 season, who reached the postseason for the first time since 2008, Lancaster served as assistant strength and conditioning coach at Harvard from 2013-16. He worked with all 42 varsity sports for the Crimson, which boast the largest athletics department in the country and was the assistant strength coach for football. He also served as the head strength and conditioning coach for 10 varsity sports, including wrestling, track and field and men's and women's water polo.
While at Missouri, Lancaster worked as a sports performance intern and assisted with the 2013 Tiger football team that reached the SEC Championship. He also worked closely with the sports nutrition staff for Missouri, helping with pre and post-workout nutrition.
Lancaster obtained his bachelor's degree in from Northwest Missouri State University in 2013 where he played football as part of the 2009 NCAA Division II national championship team and worked as a strength and conditioning intern. In addition, he earned a Master's of Science degree in kinesiology from Hardin-Simmons University in 2019 and holds CSCS, SCCC, and USAW-1 certifications and is a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
