Former Patriots Executive Joins Saints Front Office

DFormer New England Patriots executive Dave Ziegler has been hired by the New Orleans Saints. Ziegler will serve in an advisory role through the 2024 NFL Draft. It is unclear if Ziegler will remain with the Saints beyond the draft.

Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports was the first to report.

Ziegler has been working in the NFL since 2010 when he broke in with the Denver Broncos. He remained there for three seasons before joining the New England Patriots front office. From there he went to Las Vegas.

General Manager of the Raiders

The Raiders hired Dave Ziegler to be their general manager before the 2022 season. Ziegler was joined in Las Vegas by their new head coach Josh McDaniels, who had also come from New England. The pair lasted a little more than one season, getting fired during the 20223 campaign. Ziegler and McDaniels were joining a team that had just made the playoffs. In addition, the Raiders snagged the biggest offseason prize in free agency, signing All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams away from the Green Bay Packers. Expectations were high, perhaps unreasonably so.

Ziegler and McDaniels are alumnae of John Carroll University, a school that has produced many NFL employees. This includes Nick Caserio, the ex-Patriots executive, now GM of the Houston Texans.

Among the issues facing the Las Vegas Raider during Ziegler’s tenure was the off-field issues of former Patriots star Chandler Jones. Before being fired in the fall, Ziegler and McDaniels were the target of some of Jones’ online rants. This included a tirade by Jones after he claimed to be locked out of the team’s facilities.

“F— it, I don’t wanna play for the Raiders if that’s my HC, or GM,” Jones posted at the time.

Time in New England

New England employed Ziegler for nine seasons. He worked his way up to Director of Player Personnel. He collected three Super Bowl rings during his time with the Patriots.

Ziegler worked in scouting and player personnel departments in New England that brought aboard players who made major Super Bowl contributions. This includes Jamie Collins, Logan Ryan, Duron Harmon, James White, Trey Flowers, Shaq Mason, Joe Thuney, and Ja’Whaun Bentley. He also helped usher in younger players such as Kyle Dugger, Josh Uche, Anfernee Jennings, Mike Onwenu, Christian Barmore, and Rhamondre Stevenson.

Dave Ziegler is still only 46 years old and a likely general manager candidate down the road. The New Orleans Saints are scheduled to select No. 14 in the 2024 NFL Draft.