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The New Orleans Saints signed former Minnesota Vikings safety Darren Sharper today. Terms of the deal weren’t known at the time of this post. At 33-years-old, Darren has no doubt seen his best years, but he will probably give the Saints some much needed leadership in their defensive secondary. After all, he’s been to four Pro Bowls and has 54 career interceptions, which is more than any other active player. He seemed pretty excited to be leaving Minnesota to play for new Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams:

“He’s excellent. I talked to guys around the league, and they loved playing for him. He doesn’t get caught up in, ‘This is my system.’ He utilizes his players to the best of their ability, and that’s something that I’ve been looking for the last couple of years. It’s a chance to go the Super Bowl. We have the best offense in the league. We needed to add some things, and I think we did.”

The Saints were, as Darren said, first in total offense last season but 23rd in total defense. Hence the additions of coach Williams and free agents Paul Spicer (defensive end), Jabari Greer (cornerback) and Darren. How much this defense will be improved is yet to be seen, but they’ve certainly made some positive steps to catch up with their high-powered offense.

Sources: NFL.com, TwinCities.com, Photo: Newscom

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Saints Sign Darren Sharper

It was a very busy day at Redskins Park. When Joe Gibbs stepped down as the head coach of the Washington Redskins a couple weeks ago, I felt his replacement was quite possibly already in-house. Or at least a couple good candidates were already in-house — defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and offensive coordinator Al Saunders. Much to my surprise, both coaches were fired today. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, especially considering that Coach Williams had been interviewed for the head position four times recently. So much for keeping continuity on the coaching staff.

Of course, there was a promotion to keep things somewhat intact. As coaches Williams and Saunders depart, D-line coach Greg Blache was upgraded to defensive coordinator. But Jim Zorn, the Seattle Seahawks quarterback coach since 2001, was hired as the new OC. The head coaching vacancy remains open. The next interviews aren’t expected to take place until February 4, the day after the New York Giants and New England Patriots play in the Super Bowl, so team owner Dan Snyder can talk to assistants from the two teams involved. The front-runners? Giants D-coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and Pats offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Now matter how it plays out from here, the Redskins have already been through a lot of changes.

Paul Jasienski / Getty Images

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

‘Skins Fire Assistants Williams and Saunders, Head Coaching Position Remains Open