Saints hire Ole Miss' Wesley McGriff as new DB coach

The New Orleans Saints hired Ole Miss secondary coach and defensive coordinator Wesley McGriff to coach the defensive backs, the club announced Tuesday. The Saints are replacing Ken Flajole, who was fired after New Orleans finished with one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL, giving up over 290 yards through the air on average.

McGriff helped bring Ole Miss back from a 2-10 record in 2011 to 7-6 this season as part of Hugh Freeze's coaching staff. McGriff also helped defensive backs on the collegiate level like Kenny Phillips of the Giants, Sam Shields of the Packers, Brandon Harris of the Texans and Yeremiah Bell of the Jets.

Considered a Top 25 recruiter of the year by Rivals.com, McGriff has many Ole Miss freshmen and prospects reacting on Twitter to his exit, along with his former boss:

Congrats to @coachcrimedawg on his new job with the Saints. They are getting a good coach and man. Thanks for your work at Ole Miss

— Hugh Freeze (@CoachHughFreeze) February 26, 2013

McGriff had only been at Ole Miss for one season as their co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. Before that he served at a similar capcity at Vanderbilt in 2011 and spent the four years before that coaching the secondary at Miami (Fl.). McGriff has been around college football for over two decades with numerous stops at schools like Baylor and Kentucky in the FBS, and other schools like Eastern Kentucky, Kentucky State and Savannah State.

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