- The Saints added Kevin O’Dea as an assistant coach to help with their struggling special teams, as Christopher Dabe of The Times-Picayune writes. “I think when you have some struggles in an area immediately I think the reaction is people want heads to fly,” Payton said. “I think for us, it’s about bringing in someone that can help. I think [special teams coordinator] Greg [McMahon] and [special teams assistant] Stan [Kwan] and those guys, this is a low-ego business. We want to win, and that’s the most important thing. So a guy like Kevin I think can help us. He was fired up. He got in here (Monday) afternoon.”
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After struggling with special teams play for most of the season, the Saints are expected to hire another coach to aid its ST unit, Jay Glazer of FOX Sports reported this morning (link via Larry Holder of NOLA.com). Glazer did not name a specific coach that New Orleans — which already employs two special teams coaches in Greg McMahon (coordinator) and Stan Kwan (assistant) — will add.
[RELATED: Saints Waive James Laurinaitis From IR]
Heading into Week 11, the Saints ranked 24th in special teams DVOA, according to Football Outsiders, and had made a number of high-profile mistakes in recent weeks. On the season, New Orleans has allowed three field goals to be blocked (two of which were returned for touchdowns), and rate poorly in nearly every aspect of special teams play outside of Thomas Morstead‘s punts. Kicker Wil Lutz ranks 28th in average kickoff distance, while the Saints as a team are averaging only 16.3 yards per kick return, 31st in the NFL.
As Holder notes, the Saints have given several players a chance to return kicks and/or punts, but haven’t been able to find a reliable returner as of yet. So far this year, Travaris Cadet, Marcus Murphy, Tim Hightower, and Tommylee Lewis have handled at least one kickoff, while Lewis, Murphy, Jairus Byrd, Brandin Cooks, and De’Vante Harris have all been given a chance on punt return duty.
The Saints have waived linebacker James Laurinaitis from injured reserve, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). New Orleans’ decision to move on from Laurinaitis comes as no surprise, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com reported Tuesday that the team would cut the 29-year-old if a doctor deemed him healthy. That’s apparently the case, which will give Laurinaitis a chance to catch on elsewhere before season’s end.
Laurinaitis suffered a quad injury in September and his late-October return fell flat, leading the Saints to place him on IR. All told, he appeared in six games (four starts) and made 17 tackles with New Orleans, which signed him to a three-year, $8.5MM deal in the offseason. The contract included a $1.8MM signing bonus, so the Saints forked over roughly $2MM to their failed investment.
Prior to joining the Saints, Laurinaitis established himself as one of the NFL’s most durable defenders in seven years with the Rams. The 2009 second-round pick didn’t miss a game in St. Louis, where he appeared in and started 112 in a row. Despite that, the Rams released him in February.
- Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro said he’s playing Thursday night in Carolina, as Josh Katzenstein of The Times-Picayune tweets. This likely means Vaccaro has appealed his four-game ban for Adderall. Players are typically able to suit up while the process plays out.
Saints linebacker James Laurinaitis will see a doctor this week and, if deemed healthy, he will be released off injured reserve and permitted to sign elsewhere, sources tell Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
Laurinaitis suffered a quad injury in September and his late October return fell flat, leading New Orleans to park him on IR. Apparently, he feels that he is healthy enough to play again, but the Saints cannot reactivate him after already using their IR-DTR spot on Sheldon Rankins.
Laurinaitis joined New Orleans on a three-year deal this spring with a base value of $8.5MM. The contract included a $1.8MM signing bonus, so the Saints have forked over about ~$2MM in total on their failed investment.
Prior to his issues this year, the ex-Ohio State standout never missed a game or a start since entering the league in 2009, suiting up 112 consecutive times. Last year, he turned in his seventh 100-tackle campaign in a row. If he’s truly healthy, Laurinaitis can be an impact addition for a contender in need of defensive help.
The Saints will be without one of their special teams aces for the rest of the season. Nick Underhill of The New Orleans Advocate tweets that the team has placed Michael Mauti on the reserve/non-football injury list. Safety Chris Banjo will be taking Mauti’s spot on the roster, reports Joel Erickson of The Advocate (via Twitter).
Following James Laurinaitis‘ season-ending injury in early November, the team has lost another captain in Mauti. It’s uncertain what ailment landed the 26-year-old on this season-ending list, as the defender showed up on the team’s injury report with an undisclosed illness. The former seventh-round pick has nine tackles and one forced fumble on the season, with the four-year veteran contributing both on special teams and at strong-side linebacker. Defensively, the Saints will likely rely on Sam Barrington, Stephone Anthony, and Nathan Stupar to fill in at linebacker.
Banjo was released by the Packers with an injury settlement in late October after having suffered a hamstring injury. In three-plus seasons in Green Bay, the 26-year-old appeared in 37 games, compiling 38 tackles and three passes defended.
- Saints defensive tackle Nick Fairley collected on a $250K bonus by eclipsing four sacks for this season, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The 28-year-old signed a one-year deal with the Saints in March and he could be primed for a larger deal this offseason. So far this year, the advanced stats at Pro Football Focus have Fairley ranked as the 28th best interior defensive lineman in the league out of 119 eligible players.
- Saints head coach Sean Payton and safety Kenny Vaccaro aren’t pleased with the way they learned of Vaccaro’s pending four-game suspension for Adderall on Thursday, per Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com. Payton had no advance notice of the suspension, only finding out via media reports, while Vaccaro didn’t know punishment was definitely coming. He did receive a vague notification beforehand, though. “We got a letter, but that’s just a preliminary letter that it could be a possible something,” Vaccaro said. “But, there have been mistakes before.” Vaccaro and the Saints are now awaiting the results of a second sample, which he told Katzenstein hasn’t yet been tested, and is unsure when his potential suspension would begin. In the meantime, he’ll play Sunday against Denver.
Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro is facing a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s drug policy for use of Adderall, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Vaccaro has the option to appeal and it stands to reason that he will fight the ban. 
Vaccaro, 25, has been a full-time starter at safety since joining the Saints as the 15th overall pick in the 2013 draft. He played all 16 games for the first time in his career in 2015, and while he failed to record an interception for the first time, he set new career highs in tackles (104) and sacks (three). This year, he has started in all seven of his games, totaling 43 tackles and two forced fumbles.
Pro Football Focus viewed Vaccaro’s play favorably last year, ranking him 27th out of 89 qualified players. Out of that group, only five safeties received a higher grade as a run defender than Vaccaro. This year, he stands as the 19th ranked safety in the NFL, meaning that he is a well above-average starter.
The Saints have Vaccaro under contract through 2017 after exercising his fifth-year option in the spring.
- Before signing linebacker Sam Barrington earlier today, the Saints looked at a handful of defenders. According to Nick Underhill of The Advocate (via Twitter), the team worked out linebackers James-Michael Johnson, John Lotulelei, Casey Matthews, and Jason Trusnik.
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