Saints GM Loomis welcomes Ireland to scouting staff

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) Saints general manager Mickey Loomis says former Miami Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland has joined New Orleans' front office as one of the club's chief scouts.

Loomis says no formal title for Ireland has been decided upon yet, but Ireland will oversee college scouting while Terry Fontenot will continue to oversee pro scouting.

Ireland's hiring, announced during Senior Bowl activities Wednesday, comes a day after Loomis fired former college scouting director Rick Reiprish, who had been with the club for a decade.

It also comes less than two weeks after Ryan Pace, formerly a top personnel executive in New Orleans, left to become general manager of the Chicago Bears.

Loomis says that after Pace left, the Saints ''needed to add some experience, an evaluator from outside the building'' who would bring ''fresh ideas.''

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