Saints Coaches Roster | New Orleans Saints | NewOrleansSaints.com

A 20-year coaching veteran, including 19 in the collegiate ranks, Terry Joseph enters his second season as the Saints defensive pass game coordinator.

Working with the team's safeties, the New Orleans native helped usher two new starters into New Orleans' lineup in 2025, forming a productive duo as the back end for a defense that finished fourth in the NFL in opponent net passing yards per game. Justin Reid anchored the secondary, finishing with 72 tackles, despite missing two contests and returning an interception 49 yards for a touchdown. Rookie Jonas Sanker entered the starting lineup in Week Two and led the secondary with 78 stops and ranked second among rookie safeties with three takeaways, tied for first on the team, earning ESPN.com All-Pro honors.

A 20-year coaching veteran, including 19 in the collegiate ranks, Terry Joseph enters his second season as the Saints defensive pass game coordinator.

Working with the team's safeties, the New Orleans native helped usher two new starters into New Orleans' lineup in 2025, forming a productive duo as the back end for a defense that finished fourth in the NFL in opponent net passing yards per game. Justin Reid anchored the secondary, finishing with 72 tackles, despite missing two contests and returning an interception 49 yards for a touchdown. Rookie Jonas Sanker entered the starting lineup in Week Two and led the secondary with 78 stops and ranked second among rookie safeties with three takeaways, tied for first on the team, earning ESPN.com All-Pro honors.

Joseph arrived in New Orleans after spending four seasons as the defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach at Texas (2021-24). In 2024, Joseph helped lead the Longhorns defense to an impressive campaign, ranking seventh nationally in opponent passing yards per game (173.8) and tied for first in interceptions (22). He was key in the development of Jahdae Barron, who won the 2024 Jim Thorpe Award as the nation's top defensive back, earned consensus All-American honors, when he made 67 tackles, five interception returns for 82 yards, 11 pass breakups and a fumble recovery and was a first round pick of the Denver Broncos.

Texas' 2023 secondary was highlighted by a standout campaign from Barron, a Thorpe Award semifinalist, who led the crew with 61 tackles (32 solo) while adding 4.5 stops for loss, one interception, one forced fumble and a six pass breakups. Terrance Brooks, Jerrin Thompson and Michael Taaffe led the team with three interceptions apiece, while the Longhorns as a whole tallied 16 interceptions, the tenth-most in the nation.

The 2022 Longhorns featured a secondary with a quartet of honorable mention All-Big 12 honorees in Barron, Anthony Cook, Thompson and Ryan Watts. Texas was 12th in the nation with three defensive touchdowns, two by Barron and 34th in defensive passing efficiency at 123.64, while ranking 27th in scoring defense (21.6 ppg). Barron had a team-leading 11.5 tackles for loss and had an interception return and fumble return for scores.

In 2021, Joseph tutored honorable mention All-Big 12 honorees B.J. Foster and Cook, helping guide them to career years. Foster tallied a career-high three interceptions, third in the conference, while also registering a career-best 47 tackles. Cook recorded a career-best 46 tackles, including three stops for loss.

Joseph arrived in Austin after spending three seasons at Notre Dame (2018-20), the last two as defensive passing game coordinator and all three as defensive backs coach. During that time, he helped the Fighting Irish post a 33-5 record, earn two College Football Playoff appearances, a pair of No. 5 rankings in the final polls (2018 & 2020) and a No. 11 ranking in 2019.

In 2020, the Irish ranked in the top 25 nationally in fumbles recovered (10/eighth), opponent third down conversion percentage (31.4/12th), scoring defense (19.7/14th), tackles for loss (7.5/17^th), rushing defense (113.0/16th) and total defense (343.6/25th). The defense had six straight games allowing fewer than 100 yards rushing en route to a 10-2 record, including a win over No. 1 Clemson, an undefeated regular season and appearances in the ACC Championship Game and College Football Playoff.

Under Joseph, sophomore safety Kyle Hamilton flourished and earned third-team All-America honors from the Associated Press, was named a consensus first-team All-ACC and was named a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award. He led Notre Dame with 63 tackles (51 solo), recorded 4.5 stops for loss, six pass breakups and an interception. Members of the secondary made up four of the team's top six tacklers and those four combined for 26 pass breakups.

In 2019, Notre Dame's defense ranked in the top five in passing yards allowed per game (168.5/third) and passing efficiency defense (110.15/fifth), along with leading the nation in fumble recoveries and positioning in the top 20 in scoring defense (17.9 ppg./12th) and total defense (321.6 ypg./18th). The Irish were 11-2 for the season with a win in the Camping World Bowl. Safety Alohi Gilman led the defensive backs with 74 tackles and three forced fumbles, while Hamilton was named a freshman All-American by The Athletic after collecting four interceptions and six pass breakups. Cornerback Troy Pride Jr. also had six pass breakups and went on to be selected in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers.

Notre Dame posted another perfect regular season and appearance in the College Football Playoff in 2018, going 12-0 and then only falling to eventual champion No. 2 Clemson in the Cotton Bowl. The defense was ranked in the top ten nationally in passing yards allowed per attempt (5.6/t-second), fewest touchdown passes allowed (ten/third), pass efficiency defense (105.6/sixth), fewest plays allowed of at least 30 yards (17/t-tenth) and fewest touchdowns allowed (28/t-tenth). Junior cornerback Julian Love was a consensus first-team All-American and Thorpe Award finalist after amassing 16 pass breakups and three fumble recoveries. He went on to be a fourth-round pick by the New York Giants in the 2019 NFL Draft. After Irish safeties failed to record an interception in 2017, Elliott and Gilman had four and two, respectively, in 2018.

Joseph went to Notre Dame after spending the 2017 season as defensive backs coach at North Carolina. He tutored cornerback M.J. Stewart, who participated in the 2018 Reese's Senior Bowl. A two-time All-ACC honorable mention selection, Stewart registered 45 tackles, 12 pass breakups, 5.0 stops for loss and 2.0 sacks.

Prior to joining the Tar Heels staff, Joseph served as defensive backs coach at Texas A&M from 2014-16. He tutored an Aggies pass defense in 2015 that ranked fourth nationally in passing yards allowed per game and 18th in opponent pass efficiency. Joseph was instrumental in the position switch of Brandon Williams in 2015, who converted from running back to cornerback prior to the start of the season and developed into a third round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. In 2016, Joseph mentored All-SEC strong safety and former Saint Justin Evans, who was a semifinalist for the Thorpe Award.

Previously, Joseph spent two seasons at Nebraska as its secondary coach (2012-13). Despite the loss of two returning starters in the secondary, Nebraska led the nation in opponent completion percentage (47.1 percent), ranked fourth in pass defense (168.2 yards allowed per game) and ninth in pass efficiency defense (105.32), while helping the Cornhuskers to a 10-win season. The 168.2 passing yards per game NU allowed was the second-fewest by a Husker defense since 1993, while the 47.1 completion percentage was the lowest for Nebraska since 2001.

In 2012, safety Daimion Stafford earned first-team All-Big Ten honors under Joseph's tutelage after leading the conference with four interceptions in league play. He ranked second on the team with 96 tackles, he forced two fumbles and recovered two fumbles. Cornerback Ciante Evans earned first-team All-Big Ten honors from CBS Sports, totaling 56 tackles and ranking second on the team with eight pass breakups. Evans registered a 29-yard interception return for a touchdown. The Cornhuskers' three interception returns for touchdowns tied for its most since 2006, while their 13 picks in 2012 eclipsed its 2011 total.

Before arriving at Nebraska, Joseph spent two seasons under Derek Dooley as the defensive backs coach at Tennessee, where he also served as the recruiting coordinator. He helped the Volunteers rank among the nation's top pass defenses in 2010 and 2011. In 2011, UT finished 12th nationally in passing yards allowed with an average of just 177.8 yards per game.

In Joseph's first season in Knoxville in 2010, he helped the Vols rank in the top 20 in the nation with 18 interceptions, and the group played a key role in a late-season run that earned Tennessee a trip to the Music City Bowl. Safety Janzen Jackson and cornerback Prentiss Waggner each earned second-team All-SEC honors. Waggner returned a school-record three interceptions for touchdowns.

Joseph joined Tennessee after working under Dooley for three seasons at Louisiana Tech from 2007-09, where he served as secondary coach/recruiting coordinator, playing a key role in a defensive turnaround in Ruston. The highlight of Joseph's stint at Louisiana Tech came in 2008, when the Bulldogs finished second in the Western Athletic Conference and earned their first bowl trip in seven seasons. Tech completed an 8-5 season with an Independence Bowl win.

Joseph served as a Defensive Graduate Assistant at LSU in 2006, where the Tigers ranked third nationally in total defense and finished the year with a Sugar Bowl victory over Notre Dame.

Joseph began his coaching career in the New Orleans-area high school ranks, working at his alma mater, Archbishop Shaw (1999-2002) and Destrehan (2003-05).

Joseph earned his bachelor's degree in marketing/business administration from Northwestern State in 1996, where he was a baseball standout and one of only 12 players in Southland Conference history to earn first-team All-Conference honors in three consecutive seasons. Joseph, who was named the 1995 Southland Conference and Louisiana Player of the Year, twice earned Academic All-America honors. He helped the Demons capture three straight SLC championships and held ten different school records when his collegiate career ended. He was a 13th-round draft pick of the Chicago Cubs and played four seasons with the Cubs and San Diego Padres minor league systems.

Joseph comes from a family with deep coaching roots. His cousin, Vance Joseph, is the defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos, and another cousin, Mickey Joseph, is the head football coach for Grambling State University.

Joseph and his wife, Amanda, have two daughters, Taylor and Lynleigh.

COACHING CAREER: Archbishop Shaw High School, 1999-2002; Destrehan High School, 2003-05; LSU, 2006; Louisiana Tech, 2007-09; Tennessee, 2010-11; Nebraska, 2012-13; Texas A&M, 2014-16; North Carolina, 2017; Note Dame, 2018-20; Texas 2021-24, New Orleans Saints, 2025-.