Brian Young enters his third season as the club's pass rush specialist. In his tenth 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.
The Saints improved their sack total from 30 in 2016 to 42 in the 2017 regular season, tied for seventh in the NFL, while adding six more quarterback takedowns in two postseason contests. Defensive end Cameron Jordan enjoyed a standout season with a career-high 13.5 sacks as he was selected as an AP All-Pro and to his third Pro Bowl. The Saints signed defensive end Alex Okafor as an unrestricted free agent and he posted 4.5 sacks to tie for second on the team and two forced fumbles through ten games before suffering a season-ending Achilles injury.
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 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's was a 2016 inductee into the El Paso Athletic 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-.
