The New Orleans Saints have secured the services of Mike Westhoff to oversee the club's special teams units, coach Sean Payton said Thursday.
Coaches Bradford Banta and Kevin O'Dea will remain on staff to work with Westhoff, who retired from the NFL following the 2012 season with the New York Jets. The 69-year-old is expected to remain with the Saints until the end of this season.
"If I can solve a couple of problems, I'll try to do it. It's a good challenge. I don't want to be the guy that regrets not having tried something. It made sense to me, so why not?" Westhoff said.
The Saints (7-2) are riding high on a season-best seven-game winning streak, but the club has endured stumbles from its special teams. New Orleans resides 30th in the league in punt return average and 28th in kickoff return average.
Westhoff was with the Miami Dolphins from 1986-2000 and the Jets from 2001-12. He will get a chance to see his former team on Dec. 17 when the Jets pay a visit to the Superdome.
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