Saints Payton announces staff additions of Nolan, Banta

Published January 31, 2017

METAIRIE, La. (AP) Saints coach Sean Payton says he's hired former San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Nolan as New Orleans' new linebackers coach and former NFL long snapper Bradford Banta as special teams coordinator.

The moves, announced Tuesday, come in the wake of Payton's decision earlier in January to let go of five assistants, including linebackers coach Joe Vitt and special teams coordinator Greg McMahon.

Nolan, the son of former Saints head coach Dick Nolan, was San Francisco's head coach from 2005 to 2008 and spent 17 seasons as a defensive coordinator with Atlanta, Baltimore, Denver, Miami, the New York Giants and Jets, and Washington.

Banta, a Louisiana native, spent the past three seasons as a Redskins special teams assistant. He played for Indianapolis, the New York Jets, Detroit and Buffalo.

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