In his sixth season in charge of the team's defensive line, Ryan Nielsen also served as an assistant head coach in 2021 and in 2022 will add co-defensive coordinator duties.
Nielsen has a history of developing players on the professional and college levels and brings abundant experience to the New Orleans defense.
Since 2017, New Orleans' 233 sacks ranked third in the league, seven different defensive linemen have produced multi-sack games and the New Orleans defense went an NFL-record 55 regular season and postseason games without allowing a 100-yard rusher between the 2017-20 campaigns and has the longest current streak at 22 consecutive contests. During his tenure in New Orleans, the Saints have ranked in the top ten in sacks four of five seasons and have finished in the top five in run defense the last four campaigns.
With the NFL's fourth ranked rush defense (93.5 yards per game) and the eighth-most sacks (46), Nielsen worked with his position group to help produce standout campaigns from longtime veterans as well as overseeing development from the team's promising young defenders. Nielsen helped defensive end Cameron Jordan earn Pro Bowl honors, as he finished the season tied for seventh in the NFL with 12.5 sacks. In the five seasons that Nielsen has served as Jordan's position coach, his 60.5 sacks are tied for third in the league over that period, with four double-digit campaigns and being selected to the Pro Bowl each season. Along with defensive end Marcus Davenport, who posted a career-high nine quarterback takedowns, the Saints were just one of seven teams to have a pair of teammates record at least nine sacks.
In 2020, Nielsen guided a defensive line that saw defensive end Trey Hendrickson enjoy a breakout season with 13.5 sacks, tied for second in the league as he received PFWA All-NFL honors. Jordan posted 7.5 sacks and also served as a solid run defender for the league's fourth-ranked rush defense both in yards per game and yards per rush, as he was selected to the Pro Bowl for the fourth consecutive year. In the middle, defensive tackle David Onyemata enjoyed a breakout campaign with 6.5 quarterback takedowns and one interception. Second-year defensive end Carl Granderson made a significant contribution with five takedowns, four in the season's last five weeks.
In 2019, New Orleans ranked third in the NFL with 51 sacks with 38.5 of them coming from the defensive line. New Orleans also ranked fourth in the NFL in opponent yards rushing per game (91.3). Jordan was again instrumental in the defense's success as he tallied a career-high 15.5 sacks, ranked third in the NFL and collected one more takedown in the postseason. Jordan was selected to the Pro Bowl for the third consecutive season, as an Associated Press second-team All-Pro for the second straight campaign and NFC Defensive Player of the Week after a dominating performance with four sacks to tie the team record as the team also tied the club single-game record with nine takedowns. Davenport finished second on the team with six sacks and Hendrickson added 4.5 takedowns.
In 2018, Nielsen tutored a front four that contributed to the Saints finishing tied for fifth in the NFL with 49 sacks and ranking second in the league in opponent rushing yards per game (80.2) and opponent yards per rush (3.6). Jordan enjoyed an outstanding season with 12 sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins enjoyed a breakthrough season with a career-high eight sacks, the most by a Saints interior defender since 2001. Davenport was a PFWA All-Rookie selection with 4.5 sacks, Onyemata had a career-high 4.5 takedowns and defensive end Alex Okafor chipped in four sacks and a fumble recovery.
In 2017, under Nielsen's supervision, Jordan became the first Saints defensive end to be named an AP first-team All-Pro. Jordan's elite season highlighted by 13 sacks earned him numerous individual accomplishments, including his third Pro Bowl nod and his first NFC Defensive Player of the Week (Week Six) and NFC Defensive Player of the Month (November) honors.
From 2013-2016, he was the defensive line/recruiting coordinator/run game coordinator at North Carolina State. The 2016 season saw the Wolfpack rank eighth in the FBS in rush defense and lead the ACC, allowing just 108.6 rushing yards per game — the school's best mark since 2004. Junior defensive end Bradley Chubb recorded 22 tackles for loss, fourth in the country, while his 11 sacks were fourth in the ACC and 19th in the nation. He was named second-team All-ACC. A Broyles Award candidate in 2015/2016, given annually to college football's top assistant coach, Nielsen earned this recognition tutoring a Wolfpack defensive line that was part of a defense that ranked 29th in the FBS in opponent net yards per game. Defensive end Mike Rose was a second-team All-ACC selection after he finished second in the ACC in sacks and ninth in tackles for loss. In the 2018 NFL Draft, four linemen who Nielsen coached in Raleigh; Chubb, B.J. Hill, Justin Jones and Kentavius Street, were all selected.
Nielsen coached at Northern Illinois from 2011-12, including a 2012 season where he was the co-defensive coordinator/defensive line/recruiting coordinator and helped the Huskies to the GoDaddy.com Bowl. Two defensive lineman were first-team All-MAC selections in 2012, Sean Progar and Alan Baxter, while Nabal Jefferson was a National Scholar-Athlete and finalist for the 2012 William V. Campbell Trophy. In 2011, Nielsen coached Progar and Ron Newcomb to All-Mid American Conference honors.
Serving as the defensive line/special teams coach at Tennessee-Martin in 2010, the Skyhawks led the Ohio Valley Conference in total defense. From 2008-09, Nielsen was the defensive coordinator and coached the defensive line and linebackers at Central Connecticut State. In 2009, Central Connecticut won the Northeastern Conference title. Nielsen served as the defensive line coach at the University of Mississippi from 2005-07 under current LSU Head Coach and former Saints Defensive Line Coach Ed Orgeron, following one season at the University of Idaho (2004), where he coached two freshman All-Americans. Mississippi defensive linemen led the Southeastern Conference in sacks twice during his three-year stint. Nielsen got his start in coaching as a volunteer assistant at his alma mater, the University of Southern California in 2002.
Nielsen, a Simi Valley, Calif. native who started 30 games at defensive tackle at USC from 1998-2001 as a teammate of Saints Secondary Coach Kris Richard, finished his college career with 107 career tackles and was voted the team's Defensive Lineman of the Year in 1999. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in public policy in 2002 and went to training camp with the Philadelphia Eagles. He played for the Arena Football League's Los Angeles Avengers in 2004.
PLAYING CAREER: Southern California, 1997-2001; Los Angeles Avengers (Arena Football League), 2004.
COACHING CAREER: Southern California, 2002, Idaho, 2004; Mississippi, 2005-07; Central Connecticut State, 2008-09; Tennessee-Martin, 2010; Northern Illinois, 2011-12; North Carolina State, 2013-16; New Orleans Saints, 2017-.
