Brandon Staley - Defensive Coordinator, saints Event: Press Conference | Date: 2026-09-05 | Full transcript (primary source).
On September 5, 2026, Brandon Staley, Defensive Coordinator for the Saints, addressed the media in a press conference focusing on the team's recent roster decisions and player performances. The discussion highlighted the development of players like Isaac Adam and Mike Reed as the Saints prepare for the upcoming season.
Transcript
Staley: So one of the big question marks that came out of the 53-man roster was around Isaac Adam and Mike Reed. What is it that Mike showed you guys, that kind of a lot to stick around?
Staley: I thought he had consistent improvement really from his first practice here without really any off-season. And I thought in the opportunities, in the scrimmages, and in the games, I thought he showed real physicality in playmaking. And we felt like he was the right guy to be coaching and developing long-term.
Staley: Yeah, he's got length. So he gives us some size at that position. And I think what he showed in the preseason is he's really physical. He really packs a punch going forward. And then we feel like he sees the game well enough in the deep part of the field and plays well enough in the deep part of the field. And you can kind of see his corner background kind of show itself when he's deep, which is an advantage to how we play. So I just really like the progress that he made in such a short amount of time. And then, again, I think in those live situations, I thought he played productive football.
Staley: I think a lot's possible if you hang in there. His path is one that, hopefully, the NFL takes note of because he's had to go the hard way. And he's done it the right way. And I think since he's been with us, all he's done is improve. I think that he's shown a lot of versatility through his availability. And I think in special teams, he's been a factor as a gunner, as a returner. He has that background, which I think helps him. And then in the secondary, he's played outside. He's played inside. He could play safety. But I think as a cover guy, he's shown that not only can he cover people, but he can make plays on the football. He's got a real knack when the football's in the air. And I think you see that ball judge that makes him a good returner. He's very natural when the ball's in the air. He's very natural when his back is to the ball. It's an incredible story. And we're proud of him. And now the real work is in front of him.
Staley: A lot of times, they're going to meet based on their primary position in four DB defenses. So he plays corner. Jonas plays safety. So if they all met together, that would be one thing, but we've got two really good coaches, Grady Brown and Terry Joseph. And so we kind of split that room. They do meet together some. We meet in the back seven quite a bit together, where I'm kind of in front of the group. But then when they split to their individual positions, they're being trained outside, too. Just like Jonas is still getting trained as a safety. JP's still being trained as an outside corner. So both Grady and Terry have coached the entire secondary so there's an advantage to that, speaking the same language. So that's the reason.
Staley: Yeah, I mean, they'll meet with me. And then like in position drills, we have RJ Bland and Peter Genta, who will kind of divide that work up at times. But once you start the season, it's a lot of stuff together because we're trying to tie things together the right way. During the off season, you can get into some of the more of that position-specific stuff where we can divide the staff a little bit more. But as we go, we're going to be doing this thing together.
Staley: Yeah, Luke, that's a big aspect of it. He started for a really good football team last year. You were able to see him in the fire against a real quality schedule. All of us did him coming out at different places. And I think our scouting staff had a strong opinion of him coming out. And then just our pro personnel department tracking him over the years certainly felt the same way. And then some of us on defense have run into his circle, whether it was in the pros or in college, or even some of our guys recruited him coming out of high school. So just felt like he would be a quality depth piece. And it was good to see him out there today.
Staley: Yeah, I mean, I think that our improvement was significant from game one to the last one. I think the quality of the silent tape is what tells you the truth always. Every year is a new year. And so much depends on your health. But if you can keep the same group healthy, then you should anticipate the quality improving. So I think that's what's happened during training camp so far for us. But nothing's guaranteed. We've got to continue to earn it on the practice field. And once the games start, that's when you can truly measure where you need to go. But we love our group. We've had a good training camp and we're excited to get to the regular season.
Staley: Significantly. I think him playing last season was a huge factor in his development. Us being able to get him out there and have quality snaps in the fire and meaningful games throughout from the first one to the last one. I think it really enhanced his ability to hit the ground in the springtime with a real inventory of experience so that he could have a training camp where it would lead to even more improvement, which is what's happened. We're able to play him in both spots in base defense and in sub defense. He can run the show on his own. He would be able to command the huddle and run the show as a young player, which we think is the sign of a guy that's the right guy to be coaching. But he's just continued to make progress in all facets of this game.
Staley: Just trying to maximize the depth of our team. We've got a lot of depth in the edge room right now and we're trying to increase the depth in the inside linebacker room. Kind of make sure that we get one of our top players, a role on our team. He's so important to special teams. So I think the cross-streaming nature, he's always had the body type that lends itself to being a player there. And I think the way that we play, he can play inside linebacker. And so, you know, we think it's good for him, good for us. I think the trajectory of his career.
Staley: I think that remains to be seen. But I think just the fact that he was trained this off-season at inside linebacker, we now feel very good about him being able to do that if called upon. And then he's got such a background in our system as an edge player. We know he can do that. So it was really about getting the other group of edge guys, you know, Anthony being new with us, Tyree being new for us, make sure that they got the right reps. And then young guys like Fadil and Mike Heldman, you know, we wanted to make sure that those guys, you know, got up and running so we could enhance the depth and quality of our team.
Staley: Been so impressed. He came on the trip with us to Dallas and that was probably one of my favorite things that I've kind of seen because he didn't need to come with us. He wanted to, and it really helped. I felt like our team played better in that last preseason game, just his presence. Everyone knows how hard he's trying to get back and how fast he's getting back. So, you know, he attacks everything like he always does, but I just think at his age to show the purpose, the urgency, how much it matters to him.
Staley: Just, you know, I think he's in very good shape. He was in very good condition. He was running really, really well and then playing really fast. And so I think just another year in our system and then him just being at that right sweet spot for himself, there was, he was making a lot of plays and, you know, there wasn't any of that veteran pacing himself in the training camp. He was going for it and, you know, we're excited for his return.
Staley: Yeah, Luke, I think a great observation and great points. You know, DeMario and Kayden are different players, so they're not going to be playing the same position. So, but I think that, you know, Kayden's skill set is very unique in terms of the type of player that he is as a defensive player. And then I think Jonas and Alante are very different players too. And just like with Alante at star, we played a little bit differently to suit his strengths as a player. You know, little things, obviously, little nuances within the scheme, but really just trying to feature their game.
Staley: Yeah, you know, Nick, it's a balance. I think it mainly has to be about you because you have this like new, you have this new team, so to speak, and you're gearing it now for the regular season. But, you know, whether it's, you know, getting the scout teams up and running, you know, there's a process to that. So you're trying to get, you know, kind of into rhythm. And when you're trying to get into rhythm, you got to make it about you. So I think that that's where our focus is right now is focusing on, hey, we've got a month of training camp to look back on. Hey, these are the things that we like. These are the things that we need to improve on. So put our focus there.
Staley: Yeah, we love Ike, definitely. I'm sure Kellen talked about it. Those are the tough ones.
Staley: He's the best player I've ever seen.
Staley: Yeah, I mean, if you can get it, it helps. It helps. So no matter what the position, if you can get the length with the right other position characteristics with it, it's certainly an advantage. And Ed Donatell used to tell me that those type of guys are harder to shoot over. So, you know, if you can get that, especially in the secondary, it can be a help.
Staley: Hopefully that means that they have clarity of their assignment and they have clarity of the technique that we want to play and that they really trust in those things that are being taught to them. Because I think when players have clarity, that's when you feel the freedom to go for it. And it's our quest as a coach, as a teacher is to get them to that space.
Staley: There's a little bit more space and time to the field. There's space and time for him. Things happen faster into the boundary. A lot of the tough adjustments happen into the boundary in the NFL because it's still a field league. So there's subtle differences that way.
Staley: Yeah, I'm happy that Vernon's been available. He had a really good training camp last year and he led us in reps on the D-line last year. So we wanted to make sure that he activated himself in that same way not just against more premium competition. He was able to earn his way in that first group and get more looks with the ones. But he still has a long way to go.
Staley: Yeah, those rookies for us were the ones that held the rope for us. Again, our rookies. And then I think what we were able to do this year, as you guys saw, and I think JP's a good example, is we just were able to get even those second year players, again, a ton of work.
Staley: Yeah, Ross, I think in the pre-season, the way it works, those guys that are in the second and third group, just they play a ton. Because they play a ton in the joint practices too. It wasn't just the starters. I mean, you saw, I mean, Suggsy was with our first group and burst the Rams. So I just think that it's awesome when guys get to play football. So, I mean, the more football, the better.