SmashMouth

There is a simple explanation in Kris Richard’s mind for why his year-long, self-imposed hiatus from professional football ended in New Orleans.

“Obviously, my last name is Richard, right?” he said Thursday, speaking for the first time since the New Orleans Saints hired him in March to coach their defensive secondary.

He pronounced that name the way many people from this part of the country do — REE-shard. And though Richard was born in California and attended high school and college in that state, he feels a deep, personal connection to his new home.

“My culture, my heritage, my family, my bloodlines stream through this state,” Richard said. “My wife, in particular, her immediate family was born and raised here in this city.”

So, in part, that is why he chose to resume his coaching career here.

But there’s more to it, of course. New Orleans, with its recent string of success, marks as good a place as any to get a career back on track.

Richard has not coached in an NFL game since the 2019 season. This was a personal choice.



At one point in his career, Richard seemed destined to become an NFL head coach sooner rather than later. He was the position coach for the famed Legion of Boom Seattle Seahawks secondaries, then coordinated the Seahawks No. 1 scoring defense in 2015. He also called defensive plays for some stout Dallas Cowboys defenses.

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