Saints to hire former Tennessee, Auburn WR coach Kodi Burns

This is exciting: the New Orleans Saints are hiring Tennessee Volunteers wide receivers coach Kodi Burns for the same position on Dennis Allen’s coaching staff, as first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Just 33 years old, Burns spent four years with the Auburn Tigers before moving to Tennessee in 2021, with previous stops at Samford, Middle Tennessee, and Arizona State.

And he’s a really intriguing addition for New Orleans. Burns is a former player himself — he was college teammates with Cam Newton at Auburn — and that has done a lot to help him connect with young players. But he’s also handled big responsibilities at Auburn on Gus Malzahn’s staff, coaching the receivers while also handling duties as passing game coordinator and co-offensive coordinator.

So he’s a smart young coach with a reputation for recruiting and developing talent. That’s a big get for addressing maybe the shakiest position group on the roster, where the Saints are putting a lot of pressure on Michael Thomas to return to form after he missed most of two years with an injury. Bringing in Burns’ fresh perspective to work with ascending players like Deonte Harty and Marquez Callaway could be big.

He’s certainly got big shoes to fill. Burns will be replacing longtime receivers coach Curtis Johnson, who was let go upon Allen’s promotion to head coach. Pete Carmichael was retained as offensive coordinator but he’ll be working closely with Burns in scouting, drafting, and developing receivers. The Saints still need to figure out their future at quarterback, but this is a good start to tackling one of their other highest priorities right now.

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