Canal Street Chronicles
For more than 70 years, the University of South Alabama has annually hosted the Senior Bowl, now sponsored by Panini, in Mobile. The longstanding all-star game gives some of the best collegiate talent an opportunity to showcase their skillsets in front of the scouts, coaches, and staff members of professional teams eyeing potential draft targets. This year will be no different, but the New Orleans Saints will get an in-depth, up-close look at several prospects as a group of current members of the organization are on this year’s coaching staff.
Associate head coach/running backs coach, Joel Thomas, just capped his tenth year within the Saints’ franchise. He was named as head coach of the Senior Bowl’s American team. The honor is a result of Thomas’ clear development and impact he has had throughout his career. To get the best out of his roster and intent on defeating the opposing National squad, Thomas has brought on a few of his fellow coaches who are also currently employed in New Orleans:
Peter Sirmon, current NO linebackers coach, Senior Bowl defensive coordinator
Scott Tolzien, current NO quarterbacks coach, Senior Bowl offensive coordinator
Kyle Wilber, current NO assistant special teams coordinator, Senior Bowl special teams coordinator
Robert Blanton, current NO assistant defensive backs coach, Senior Bowl defensive backs coach
Ziad Qubti, current NO college scouting coordinator, Senior Bowl operations
Mike Martinez, current NO assistant to the head coach, Senior Bowl operations
Members of seven other NFL organizations will join Thomas and the rest of the New Orleans Saints’ staffers to round out the American coaches.
A year after having one of, if not the most productive, haul from the 2025 NFL Draft, Mickey Loomis, Kellen Moore, and the rest of the Saints’ front office will be looking to knock it out of the park again in 2026, and with a big advantage from their coaching personnel.
