Brian Young enters his fifth season as the club's pass rush specialist. In his 12th season as a valued member of the New Orleans Saints coaching staff, Young has worked with all of the club's front seven position groups after first breaking into the ranks as a coaching assistant from 2009-11 following the conclusion of a nine-year playing career. He brings nine years of coaching experience and 124 games along the defensive line in the National Football League in this position.
Over the past four seasons, the Saints have improved their sack total from 30 in 2016, to 42 in 2017, to 49 in 2018 and to 51 in 2019, ranked third in the NFL. Defensive end Cameron Jordan has posted 40.5 sacks the past three seasons, ranked third in the NFL and has been selected to the Pro Bowl for each campaign, including posting 15.5 takedowns in 2019, which ranked third. On Thanksgiving night in Atlanta, the Saints tied a franchise record with nine sacks.
Young first joined the Saints coaching staff in 2009 after concluding a nine-year NFL playing career, where he appeared in 124 games and had 22.5 sacks and eight fumble recoveries for the St. Louis Rams (2000-03) and the Saints (2004-08). During his five-year playing tenure with the Black and Gold he served as a valuable member of the Saints interior defensive line rotation, starting 58-of-64 contests.
Young played at Texas-El Paso from 1996-99. He was the Western Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year as a senior in 1999, when he had a career-high 121 tackles and eight sacks. The El Paso native graduated with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. He was a 2016 inductee into the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame and a 2019 inductee into the UTEP Athletics Hall of Fame.
PLAYING CAREER: Texas El-Paso, 1996-99; St. Louis Rams, 2000-03; New Orleans Saints, 2004-08.
COACHING CAREER: New Orleans Saints, 2009-.