Texas secondary coach Terry Joseph joining the New Orleans Saints staff

A third Longhorns assistant is receiving a promotion.

Four days after the Texas Longhorns announced additions to head coach Steve Sarkisian’s coaching staff, including a new running backs coach and a new cornerbacks coach, Sarkisian will have to conduct another search after news broke on Monday morning from multiple outlets that defensive pass game coordinator and secondary coach Jerry Joseph is leaving to become the defensive backs coach for his hometown New Orleans Saints.

The news was first reported by Anwar Richardson of Orangebloods.

During Joseph’s four seasons with the Longhorns, the secondary developed into one of the nation’s best, capped by cornerback Jahdae Barron becoming the program’s third Jim Thorpe Award winner as the nation’s top defensive back.

As Texas transitioned into its first season in the SEC, the Horns led the conference in passing yards allowed per game (173.8), interceptions (22), passer rating allowed (104.55), yards per attempt allowed (5.7), and tied for first in passing touchdowns allowed (nine).

The 2024 season, which featured appearances in the SEC Championship game and the College Football Playoff semifinal, also featured the development of Clemson transfer Andrew Mukuba, who returned to Austin looking to take the next step as a player, recording 69 tackles, five interceptions, four tackles for loss, seven passes broken up, and a forced fumble.

Redshirt junior safety Michael Taaffe, a former walk on, was named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press after finishing second on the team with 78 tackles, adding 5.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, 10 passes broken up, and a forced fumble.

Joseph also make an impact as a recruiter for Texas, landing elite secondary prospects like Kobe Black in 2024 and Derek Williams in 2023, along with serving as a secondary recruiter for quarterback Arch Manning, the nation’s top prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, and one of Manning’s highest-rated classmates, cornerback Manny Muhammad.

Before spending four seasons at Texas, Joseph was the secondary coach at Notre Dame for three seasons, helping develop safety Kyle Hamilton into a first-round draft pick as the Fighting Irish made two appearances in the College Football Playoff.

A product of Archbishop Shaw in New Orleans, Joseph was an all-conference selection at Northwestern State, then spent several years as a high school coach before becoming a graduate assistant at LSU. Subsequent coaching stops included Louisiana Tech, Nebraska, Texas A&M, and North Carolina.