The New Orleans Saints said Saturday they had hired the former Dallas Cowboys assistant coach as their new defensive coordinator, hoping he can help overhaul a unit that was historically bad last season.

“We have experience in preparing and playing against his defenses and they’ve always been challenging in terms of the different looks and pressures that they feature,” Saints coach Sean Payton said when Ryan’s hiring was announced Saturday, one day after he interviewed for the job. “We’ve had the chance to visit with each other and talk about our visions for our team and I’m excited about moving forward as we prepare for the 2013 season.”

Veteran NFL coach and former Buffalo Bills assistant Stan Kwan was also added as the Saints’ special teams coach. Kwan has been an NFL assistant 23 years, the past three in Buffalo.

“Stan is a veteran coach that understands all nuances of the special teams game,” Payton said. “He has a wealth of knowledge and I believe he will be a good fit.”

Ryan was fired from the same position with the Cowboys on Jan. 8, soon after owner Jerry Jones said he would make major changes to a team that finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs.

Ryan, after his ouster in Dallas, said,”I’ll be out of work for like five minutes.”

In 2010, Ryan was Cleveland’s defensive coordinator when the Browns beat the Saints in the Superdome 30-17, intercepting passes by Drew Brees four times. One of those interceptions was made by linebacker Scott Fujita, who had been a captain of New Orleans’ defense a season earlier and had helped Ryan prepare and execute the game plan against the Saints.

Just days after returning from his season-long suspension in connection with the NFL’s investigation of the Saints’ cash-for-hits bounty program, Payton fired defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and said he would switch New Orleans’ defensive scheme from a 4-3 alignment (four down linemen, three linebackers) to a 3-4. The Saints yielded 7,042 yards last season, the worst single-season total in NFL history.

Ryan has run 3-4 schemes for years. He worked as a linebacker coach in such defenses in New England, where he was part of two Super Bowl-winning teams. He then spent five seasons as defensive coordinator in Oakland (2004-2008), followed by two seasons in Cleveland before moving to Dallas in 2011.

Now the 50-year-old Ryan takes his fourth defensive coordinator job since 2004 while becoming Payton’s fourth defensive coordinator since 2006.

“I have had the opportunity to get to know Sean Payton and his staff a bit better recently and I am excited about joining the team,” Ryan said in a statement provided by the Saints. “I’m ready to get to work on all facets of the game. This is a great opportunity and we’re getting started right away.”

When Payton took over as head coach in 2006, New Orleans had a 4-3 scheme overseen by Gary Gibbs, who was fired after the 2008 season. In 2009, Payton brought in Gregg Williams, whose hybrid scheme used a 4-3 base alignment but switched to a 3-4 in certain situations, usually on passing downs in order to help disguise which player might be blitzing.

Williams left after the 2011 season, and months later was suspended along with Payton, general manager Mickey Loomis and Saints assistant head coach Joe Vitt by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in connection with the league’s bounty probe.

The NFL said Williams ran the bounty pool and gave him an indefinite suspension. He was reinstated this past week and hired as a top defensive coach by Tennessee.

Williams has long proclaimed himself a disciple of Buddy Ryan, who was the defensive coordinator of the Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears in 1985 and later served as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals.

Williams often spoke of wanting his defenses to be “nasty” and used mottos like “defenses are respected when they’re feared.”

Now, a little more than a year after letting go of Williams, Payton has brought in the son of Williams’ mentor.

Rob Ryan got his start in the NFL on his father’s Arizona staff in 1994. He later spent three seasons as defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State before returning to the NFL with New England, under Bill Belichick, in 2000.

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The NFL ended Williams’ indefinite suspension Thursday and approved the Titans’ contract with Williams. Tennessee also announced in the same release that Williams had been hired as a senior assistant coach for its defense.

The league issued a statement saying that commissioner Roger Goodell cited several reasons for reinstating Williams, including that Williams accepted responsibility for his role in the bounty program, his commitment to never be involved in any pay for performance system, and pledging to teach safe play and respect for the rules.

“The commissioner emphasized that Williams must fully conform to league rules and will be subject to periodic monitoring to confirm his compliance,” the NFL said in its statement.

Williams, suspended indefinitely last March, is the last person involved in the scandal to be reinstated by the league. New Orleans coach Sean Payton had his suspension lifted on Jan. 22.

Saints general manager Mickey Loomis was suspended for eight games and assistant head coach Joe Vitt for six. Four current or former Saints players were also suspended after an investigation found the club had a performance pool offering cash rewards for key plays, including big hits. The player suspensions eventually were overturned.

Williams coached for the Saints between 2009 and 2011 and was hired as defensive coordinator by the St. Louis Rams in January 2012 before being suspended. Williams had been free to look for a new job in the NFL since the playoffs started, and now he is returning to the team where he got his start in the league back in 1990.

The Titans scheduled a news conference for Thursday afternoon with Williams expected to be on hand along with Titans coach Mike Munchak.

“I have known Gregg for over two decades and have seen him work his way up from a quality control coach to a head coach,” Munchak said in a statement. “He will bring a great deal of defensive knowledge and energy to our staff. The decision to bring him here only came after going through a thoughtful and thorough process.”

How well this move works remains to be seen, but Munchak faces a must-win situation going into his third season as head coach.

The Titans missed the playoffs in his first season on a tiebreaker in 2011 before slumping to a 6-10 record in 2012. Fans have not been happy that Munchak has kept Jerry Gray as his coordinator after a season when Tennessee set a franchise record by allowing 471 points, gave up at least 30 points in seven different games and ranked 27th in yards allowed.

Munchak previously made only one move on his defensive staff, firing linebackers coach Frank Bush and moving Chet Parlavecchio from assisting with special teams to linebackers coach.

Williams will be working with Gray, the same man he took with him to Buffalo when he was hired as the Bills head coach in 2001 after four seasons as Tennessee’s defensive coordinator under then-coach Jeff Fisher. Gray also worked with Williams at the Washington Redskins between 2004-07 before Williams worked with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2008 and then with the Saints.

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The league said the decision to reinstate Payton was made after a meeting between the coach and commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday in New Orleans.

“Sean fully complied with all the requirements imposed on him during his suspension. More important, it is clear that Sean understands and accepts his responsibilities as a head coach and the vital role that coaches play in promoting player safety and setting an example for how the game should be played at all levels. We are committed to delivering football that fans love and the safety players deserve. Coach Payton agrees and I look forward to working with him going forward to do that.”

The NFL said Payton is allowed to attend Senior Bowl practices in Mobile, Ala., this week and resume his duties with the team.

“I am thankful today Commissioner Goodell has granted me reinstatement. As I stated back in March, I, along with Mickey Loomis, take full responsibility for all aspects of our football program. I clearly recognize that mistakes were made, which led to league violations,” Payton said in a statement.

“Furthermore, I have assured the Commissioner a more diligent protocol will be followed. Lastly, I feel we have learned from our mistakes and are ready to move forward. I want to thank our owner, Mr. [Tom] Benson, and all of our great fans for the overwhelming support throughout this past year. I am excited to be back as Head Coach of the New Orleans Saints!”

Earlier this month, The Saints signed Payton to a five-year contract extension that runs through the 2017 season.

The deal is expected to pay Payton more than $8 million annually, which should establish him as the NFL’s highest paid coach, a league source told ESPN.

“We are all thankful that Sean Payton has been reinstated. We have a lot of work to do and we are in the middle of it right now,” Benson said in a statement. “He is our head coach and we welcome him back. We look forward to a great 2013 season and making another run at a World Championship for our fans!”

Payton is the only coach in Saints history to win a Super Bowl. But his legacy was tarnished by the NFL’s bounty probe, as Goodell ruled that Payton failed to exert proper institutional control over a cash-for-hits bounty program run by former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams from 2009 to 2011.

Williams was suspended indefinitely for his role in the bounty program. Williams has not been reinstated by the NFL and his status will not be addressed until another team is interested in hiring him, sources told ESPN. It was reported in early January that Williams would not return to the Rams, where he had been hired prior to his suspension.

The commissioner also suspended Loomis for half the season and assistant head coach Joe Vitt for six games.

Loomis and Vitt are in Mobile evaluating players. Loomis said he was caught off guard by the news of Payton’s return. But he said having Payton back sooner than expected will help the Saints.

“Every day makes a difference. We’ve certainly missed Sean in terms of the football team and all the things that go with our business and the game. But look, I miss his friendship. We all miss his friendship. We miss him as a person. I’m excited that he’s going to be back here and fired up that he’s back.”

Vitt said he talked to Payton on Tuesday morning and that he should join the Saints’ contingent in Alabama on Wednesday.

“We just found out on the way to practice,” Vitt said. “Mr. B called Mickey and we’re all excited. Sean went and spent the day in New York (Monday). He just got back in Dallas. I talked to him on the phone about 5 o’clock this morning. He’s packing his bags, so we’ll expect he’ll be here some time” Wednesday.

Vitt agreed with Loomis that the timing of Payton’s return is good for the team.

Payton is “going to hit the ground running with both feet. His jaw is going to be set. He’ll have a note pad full of thoughts and ideas and he’s going to have to get himself caught up with the evaluation process of our team and looking at film, which he’ll do. This is perfect, getting him back now, because he’s going to be here for the readings of our players. He’s going to be here for the readings of these college seniors. We start handing out unrestricted free agent tape on Thursday and Friday of this week.

“This is where you’re building the foundation of your football team, with the evaluation process of these draft-eligible juniors and seniors and the free agents that are out there.”

Payton is 62-34 in regular-season games as Saints coach and 5-3 in the postseason. During the three seasons before his suspension, the Saints won 41 regular-season and playoff games combined, more than any other team in the NFL.

Without Payton on the sideline this season, the Saints missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

There remains one outstanding issue for the Saints stemming from the bounty probe: What will become of the Saints’ second pick next spring? As part of the bounty punishment, Goodell fined the Saints $500,000 and took away second-round picks in 2012 and 2013. However, Goodell left open the possibility of restoring the 2013 second-rounder and instead docking the team a later-round pick if he is satisfied with the club’s level of cooperation in the bounty matter.

Payton’s reinstatement is one more step for the Saints to return to normalcy, but for Vitt, it doesn’t bring closure to the bounty scandal.

“It doesn’t for me. You’re going to have to ask Sean that question, Mickey that question, Vilma that question. It certainly doesn’t for me. I can forgive. I’m not going to forget. It is what it is.”

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