The New Orlean Saints to hire Penn State assistant coach Phil Galiano

The New Orleans Saints are set to hire Penn State assistant coach Phil Galiano to work with their new special team's coordinator, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The Saints announced the hire of Darren Rizzi as special teams coordinator on Monday.

Galiano and Rizzi previously worked together at Rutgers between 2003-06 and with the Miami Dolphins in 2016. After playing safety at Shippensburg from 1995-99, Galiano, 41, immediately went into coaching after his playing career and has had an assortment of assistant roles since 2000. He spent last season as Penn State's special team's coordinator after being an off-field analyst in 2017.

Rizzi, 48, has 26 years of college and NFL coaching experience, most recently with the Dolphins from 2009-18. He spent his final two years with the Dolphins as associate head coach/special teams coordinator. Over his eight seasons as coordinator, the Dolphins were first in the NFL with 11 blocked punts and second with 22 total blocked kicks.

 

(With inputs from agencies.)