Interestingly, the Saints also considered some college coaches for this role. Colorado DC Robert Livingston was someone under consideration, per source
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) February 21, 2025
The New Orleans Saints have selected all three of their coordinator positions, wrapping things up by hiring Brandon Staley as their defensive coordinator. They had plenty of options when it came to making a choice, but ultimately they went with the one who Kellen Moore worked with in 2023 and had some head coaching experience (albeit not great experience).
However, there were other options being considered, and after the hire was made, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reported that they had considered Colorado Buffaloes defensive coordinator Robert Livingston for the position.
This is an intriguing one, as Colorado was not particularly known for their defense in 2024, ranking 40th best in passing yards allowed, and 71st best in rushing yards allowed. In seven of their 13 games, they allowed 25-plus points, four of which ended up being 30-plus. But he did play a big part in putting Travis Hunter in the best position to succeed defensively, too.
And with that said, there were some promising matchups as well, such as only allowing seven points against Arizona, and holding Oklahoma State scoreless in the second to last game of the year. It is understandable why the Saints would have at least checked in and seen if he could have been a fit, especially considering he is only 39 years of age, so he has plenty of time to develop his scheme further. Before he joined Deion Sanders at Colorado, Livingston coached defensive backs for the Cincinnati Bengals from 2016 to 2023.
Regardless, the Saints went in the direction of who Moore wanted, which is reasonable as this is his first head coaching gig.