Jim Haslett James Donald " Jim " Haslett ( born December 9 , 1955 ) is an American football coach and former linebacker . He is currently the defensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins . Previously , he served as the head coach for the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League , and the New Orleans Saints and St . Louis Rams in the National Football League . Playing career . Haslett attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania , and was selected in the second round of the 1979 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills . He was a linebacker for the Buffalo Bills until 1985 , and played with the New York Jets in 1987 . He was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year for 1979 . In a 2005 article in the " Pittsburgh Post - Gazette " , Haslett admitted to using steroids while playing for the Buffalo Bills . Haslett went on record saying that " everybody tried it " to gain a competitive advantage against opposing teams . Coaching career . University at Buffalo . Haslett ' s first coaching position was as an assistant coach at the University at Buffalo . He is the second assistant coach of the Buffalo Bulls to move and become a head coach in the NFL . The first was Buddy Ryan . NFL assistant coaching positions . Haslett began his NFL coaching career as a linebackers coach for the Los Angeles Raiders in 1993 . Haslett next coached linebackers for the New Orleans Saints in 1995 and was promoted to defensive coordinator for the 1996 season . Haslett then coordinated the Pittsburgh Steelers defense for the 1997 through 1999 seasons . New Orleans Saints . In January 2000 , Haslett was named head coach of the New Orleans Saints . That season , he guided the Saints to a 10 – 6 regular - season record , their second NFC West division championship , and the first playoff victory in franchise history ( defeating the St . Louis Rams ; they lost to the Minnesota Vikings the next week ) . As a result of the Saints ' turnaround from their previous 3 – 13 season ( under his predecessor , Mike Ditka ) , Haslett was named NFL Coach of the Year . In 2005 , Haslett ' s sixth season with the Saints , the team stumbled to a 3 – 13 record . The season was marred by Hurricane Katrina ' s devastation of New Orleans . This forced the franchise to temporarily relocate their operations to San Antonio , playing three of their ' home ' games in the Alamodome . Another four home games were played in Baton Rouge at LSU ' s Tiger Stadium , and one took place at Giants Stadium in New Jersey ( against the New York Giants ) . Haslett was fired after the close of the 2005 season . St . Louis Rams . Haslett became the St . Louis Rams ' defensive coordinator to start the 2006 season . On September 29 , 2008 Haslett was named the interim head coach of the Rams after Scott Linehan was fired . The Rams gave Haslett an interim coach ' s contract , containing a clause that promised him the permanent head coach ' s job if the team won at least six games that season . Within a few weeks , this clause was nullified by the NFL , because it violated the league ' s " Rooney Rule " . He won his first game as interim head coach of the Rams with a 19 - 17 victory over the 4 - 1 Washington Redskins . That win was followed by a 34 - 14 drubbing of the Dallas Cowboys on 19 October 2008 . This brought the Rams to a 2 - 4 record . The team would lose their final 10 games , leaving Haslett with an interim record of 2 - 10 on the year . On January 15 , 2009 the Rams announced that Haslett was no longer in consideration for the permanent head coaching position and that the team would be going in a " new direction " . Florida Tuskers . Haslett coached the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League during its inaugural season in 2009 . The team went 6 - 0 but were upset in the first - ever UFL Championship Game by the Las Vegas Locomotives . He won UFL Coach of Year in their inaugural season . Washington Redskins . Haslett was hired as the Washington Redskins defensive coordinator on January 12 , 2010 under head coach Mike Shanahan . Haslett replaced the retiring Greg Blache . Coaching Tree . Coaches Haslett served under : Former Assistant Coaches that became NFL Head Coaches : Former Assistant Coaches that became NCAA Head Coaches : Personal . Haslett once owned a horse ranch in Gasport , New York , called the " Double Nickel " , named after his playing number , # 55 . He is married to Beth ; the couple has three children .