Meet the 2024 New Orleans Saints coaches: DeNarius McGhee

McGhee was part of a Texans coaching staff in 2023 that helped Houston improve from a 3-13-1 record in 2022 to winning the AFC South division title and capturing an AFC Wild Card Playoff victory over Cleveland. As a team, Houston finished the regular season with the fewest giveaways in the NFL (14) and its passing attack ranked second in the NFL in pass plays over 25 yards (41). Houston’s offensive attack blossomed with the development of several key offensive contributors. Rookie QB C.J. Stroud captured AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, completing 319-of-499 passes for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns and a 100.8 passer rating. A pair of young wideouts also developed in Nico Collins and Tank Dell. In his third season, Collins had the best season of his career with 80 catches for 1,297 yards and eight touchdowns with a franchise-record 25 20-plus yard receptions. As a rookie, Dell finished with 47 receptions for 709 yards and seven touchdowns through the first 11 games before suffering a season-ending injury.

McGhee came to Houston after three seasons (2017-19) on staff at his alma mater, Montana State. He coached quarterbacks in 2017 and running backs from 2018-19, capped off by an 11-win campaign in 2019 that marked the Bobcats’ first season with double-digit wins since McGhee quarterbacked the team in 2012. McGhee also served as a recruiting coordinator in his final season with the program. McGhee also received his first NFL coaching experience when he served a Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship in 2018 training camp with the Kansas City Chiefs.

McGhee spent two seasons (2015-16) as a graduate assistant at North Carolina State after beginning his coaching career as a quality control coach at Florida Atlantic in 2014.

A four-year starter at Montana State, McGhee stands as the school’s all-time winningest quarterback, holds program records in career passing yards (11,203) and touchdowns (79) and remains the only player in program history to win Big Sky MVP twice (2010 and 2012). He led the Bobcats to conference championships in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and garnered all-American recognition as a freshman (2010) and junior (2012). McGhee was a member of the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2014 before starting his coaching career.

A native of Euless, Texas who was born in and spent his formative years in McComb Miss., McGhee graduated from Montana State with a bachelor’s degree in business management and marketing. He and his wife, Alethia, have two children, a son, Xzavier, and daughter, Grace.

PLAYING CAREER: Montana State, 2010-13.

COACHING CAREER: Florida Atlantic, 2014; North Carolina State, 2015-16; Montana State, 2017-19; Houston Texans, 2020-23; New Orleans Saints, 2023-.