Report: Chargers, Seahawks request interviews with Saints assistant Joe Lombardi

Another member of the New Orleans Saints coaching staff could soon be on the move. Both the Los Angeles Chargers and the Seattle Seahawks have filed requests to interview Saints quarterbacks coach Joe Lombardi, per the Athletic’s Jeff Duncan.

L.A. is seeking an offensive coordinator for first-year head coach Brandon Staley’s staff, while the Seahawks are looking to replace Brian Schottenheimer, who they fired after three seasons calling plays for Seattle. Duncan noted that Staley and Lombardi have worked together before — Staley was quarterback at Mercyhurst University back in 2005, when Lombardi held the coordinator job.

Lombardi has left New Orleans once before, having joined the Detroit Lions as offensive coordinator on Jim Caldwell’s staff in 2014. But his style of offense wasn’t a great fit with Matthew Stafford and the Lions supporting cast, and Lombardi was terminated after a 1-6 start in 2015. Maybe he can find better results after learning from those mistakes; potentially working with Justin Herbert or Russell Wilson has to be enticing.

If he is hired away, Lombardi would be the third Saints assistant to leave Sean Payton’s staff this offseason. Tight ends coach Dan Campbell (also the Saints assistant head coach) hinted at what he learned from Payton in his first press conference as Detroit Lions head coach, and he took up-and-coming secondary coach Aaron Glenn with him as Lions defensive coordinator.

The Saints were able to retain talented defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen despite strong interest from the LSU Tigers, and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen is back after the Philadelphia Eagles hired a different candidate for their head coaching vacancy. New Orleans is going to look very different in 2021 no matter what happens next, but it would be good to maintain as much consistency as possible.

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