Report: Saints Lose Offensive Line Coach Zach Strief to Broncos

More shuffling on the New Orleans coaching staff, as the Saints lose an up-and-coming coach to a familiar face.

Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reports that the Denver Broncos are expected to hire New Orleans Saints offensive assistant Zach Strief as their Offensive Line Coach.

Oct 1, 2017; New Orleans Saints offensive tackle Zach Strief (64) against the Miami Dolphins. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Strief had just ended his second season on the Saints offensive staff as an assistant offensive line coach to Doug Marrone. He'll now join his former coach in Denver. 

Former Saints coach Sean Payton was just hired as head coach of the Broncos last week. Denver sent a 2023 first-round pick and swapped a 2024 second-rounder for the Saints' 2024 third-rounder to acquire Payton.

Strief, 39, was a seventh-round choice in the 2006 NFL Draft out of Northwestern. It was Sean Payton's first draft as head coach of the Saints. Strief went on to have a sterling 12-year career with New Orleans, mostly at right tackle. Upon his retirement in 2017, he became the Saints' play-by-play radio announcer for three seasons. He was hired out of the booth by Payton in 2021 for the coaching position. 

Strief and Marrone are credited for the development of RG Cesar Ruiz, who had been a disappointment as a 2020 first-round choice before breaking out last season.