MOBILE, Ala. -- General manager Mickey Loomis confirmed the hiring of Jeff Ireland to the New Orleans Saints' football operations staff on Wednesday, saying he expects the move to "reinvigorate" a front office that is undergoing a significant makeover.
Loomis said he hasn't settled on a specific title for Ireland yet. But the former Miami Dolphins general manager will oversee the college scouting process, as well as be a valuable resource in other front-office matters.
Ireland joined Loomis and his other new co-workers in the stands as they viewed Wednesday morning's Senior Bowl practice together.
"I'm excited about his experience and his pedigree and the things that he's done in the league," Loomis said of Ireland, who also worked with Saints coaches Sean Payton and Joe Vitt during previous stints with the scouting departments of the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs, respectively.
Loomis, who promised that every level of the organization would be critically evaluated after a disappointing 7-9 season, didn't necessarily set out to make such a dramatic shift in the front office this month.
But the Saints lost their top personnel man, Ryan Pace, when he became the Chicago Bears' general manager. And Loomis said that prompted him to look outside the building for an experienced talent evaluator and shake things up a bit.
"Sometimes we get a little too comfortable -- that includes me. And so there's nothing wrong with being a little uncomfortable, right?" Loomis said. "There's nothing wrong with having some fresh ideas, especially from someone that has a lot of experience. [Ireland] has worked with Bill Parcells and a lot of great people that he's worked with and learned from in the past. So I feel like we're expanding our knowledge exponentially."
Loomis also fired longtime college scouting director Rick Reiprish on Tuesday. And the Saints lost one of their two regional scouts last week when Josh Lucas left to join Pace in Chicago.
"It was tough to let Rick go," said Loomis, who first began working with Reiprish with the Seattle Seahawks in the 1980s before later hiring him with the Saints in 2004. "He did a lot of great things for us and was a big part and a big contributor to the success that we've had, including helping to put together the roster for the team that won the Super Bowl."
Loomis declined to offer specifics on why Reiprish was fired or why it didn't happen sooner. But a source indicated Tuesday that Reiprish's role had gradually diminished in recent years.
"Well, look, there's never a good time for that, never. But that's a process. Coming to those conclusions, those decisions, that's a process that I had to get through. It just took a little time," said Loomis, who added that he didn't want to speculate on whether Reiprish would have been fired if the moves with Pace and Ireland didn't happen.
Loomis said the Saints will make at least one new hire to make up for the recent departures. But they're now set at the top with Ireland overseeing college scouting and Terry Fontenot remaining in charge of the pro scouting department. Loomis spoke very highly several times of Fontenot, whom he said took charge of both the pro and college scouting departments after Pace left for Chicago.
"He's another guy that's gonna be a general manager in our league, probably sooner rather than later," Loomis said of Fontenot, who has worked his way up the Saints' scouting ranks over the past 12 years after being hired right out of college at Tulane.
At another point, Loomis singled out Fontenot and regional scout Dwaune Jones as other "rising stars" in the scouting department.
And though Loomis said it will require an adjustment to get the Saints' current staff and Ireland on the same page, he insisted, "I don't think we'll miss a beat."
Although Loomis has never worked with Ireland himself, he said he's known about him since Ireland began his scouting career with the Chiefs in the late 1990s.
Ireland's star really rose during his time as a college scout with the Dallas Cowboys from 2001 to '07, part of which was spent working under Parcells when Payton was on the coaching staff.
Ireland then went to work for Parcells as the Dolphins' general manager in 2008. However, a rift later developed between the two after Parcells had left the team -- reportedly when Ireland attempted to lure Jim Harbaugh to Miami as coach to replace Parcells' hand-picked coach, Tony Sparano.
And Ireland's tenure ended unceremoniously after the 2013 season, when the team announced a mutual parting of ways after five consecutive non-winning seasons.
Loomis said he did not consult Parcells before making the hire. But he did say that Payton's input factored heavily into the decision.
"When you have an opportunity to get a guy like Jeff, who's got a lot of experience, who's been in the general manager's seat and can be a great resource in areas other than just the evaluation area, you want to seize that opportunity," Loomis said. "So we spoke and it became a good fit."
Loomis declined to confirm any of the reported coaching moves the Saints have made this offseason -- including the recent addition of former Oakland Raiders head coach Dennis Allen as a senior defensive assistant. Loomis said he'll defer to Payton to announce all of the coaching staff changes once they're completed.
Payton and the Saints' coaching staff didn't make the trip to Mobile for the Senior Bowl this year. Loomis said they felt they would be better served to do their work back home in Metairie, Louisiana, including the self-scouting process.
"He's got his hands full in New Orleans," Loomis said.