Ronald Curry who is in his 18th season overall in the National Football League and his seventh as an assistant coach with the Saints, is one of the top offensive minds on New Orleans' coaching staff. After working primarily with the wide receivers his first five seasons with the club, the former college signal-caller will serve as quarterbacks coach for the third season, having added the role of passing game coordinator in 2022.
In 2022, under Curry's collaboration with Offensive Coordinator Pete Carmichael and the offensive staff, the Saints improved from 32nd in the NFL to 16th in net passing yards per game, while he mentored Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston. Winston started the first three games of the season, before the team made the switch to Dalton, who set a career-high in completion percentage (66.7%), as he completed 252-of-378 passes for 2,870 yards with 18 touchdowns, only nine interceptions and a 95.2 passer rating.
In Curry's first season tutoring the quarterbacks, Winston posted a 5-2 record as a starter and ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in touchdown passes (14), touchdown percentage (8.7) and passer rating (102.8) through the first eight weeks of the season before suffering a season-ending knee injury in an October 31 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Due to Winston's injury, Curry was forced to prepare four starting signal-callers. Taysom Hill won four of his five starts, while rushing for 374 yards to rank second on the team, with a club-best five rushing touchdowns, passing for four more. Trevor Siemian closed out important divisional victories over Tampa Bay and at the Atlanta Falcons following injuries to Winston and Hill.
In 2020, Curry held the title of wide receivers coach for the second season with the club, focusing on the position group in his first four years in New Orleans. Curry helped guide the position group through injuries to several players including Michael Thomas. Emmanuel Sanders led the Saints wideouts with 61 receptions for 726 yards and five touchdowns. Tre'Quan Smith, under Curry's guidance worked through injuries to record 34 receptions for 228 yards with four touchdowns, adding two more scoring grabs in the NFC Divisional Playoff.
In 2019, Curry helped Thomas shatter the NFL's receptions record and club receiving yardage records as he posted 149 receptions for 1,725 yards and nine touchdowns as he was selected Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year. He was selected as an AP first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl starter for the second consecutive season.
In 2018, Thomas recorded a NFL-best 125 grabs for 1,405 yards and nine touchdowns. He also developed third-round pick Smith, who was named NFL Rookie of the Week after a ten reception, 157-yard, one touchdown performance in Week 11.
In his three years with the San Francisco 49ers prior to coming to New Orleans, Curry served as wide receivers coach in 2015 and as an offensive assistant working with the wideouts from 2013-14. In 2015, Anquan Boldin recorded at least 65 receptions for the fourth consecutive season and Torrey Smith led the National Football League in yards per catch (20.1). From 2013-14, Boldin became the first player in 49ers history to reach 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first two seasons with the team and the first 49ers receiver to eclipse the mark in back-to-back seasons since Terrell Owens from 2002-03.
Prior to joining the 49ers staff, Curry spent three years at Mooresville Christian Academy in Mooresville, N.C., as the athletic director and head football coach.
Curry was originally selected in the seventh round (235th overall) by the Oakland Raiders in the 2002 NFL Draft. He played in 76 career games with 32 starts and registered 193 receptions for 2,347 yards and 13 touchdowns from 2002-08.
While with Oakland, Curry learned the intricacies of the wide receiver position from Pro Football Hall of Famers Fred Biletnikoff (2003-06) and James Lofton (2008).
A four-year starter at quarterback at the University of North Carolina (1998-2001), Curry left Chapel Hill with school records of 4,987 passing yards and 6,236 yards of total offense in his career. In the 2001 Peach Bowl against Auburn, Curry earned Offensive Most Valuable Player honors. The year prior, Curry was voted Tar Heels Offensive MVP as a junior, where he registered 2,325 passing yards and 11 passing touchdowns. Curry was a two-sport athlete at UNC, as he was also the starting point guard on the school's 1998-99 and 2000-01 basketball teams.
A Hampton, Va. native, Curry was a high school All-American in football and basketball.
PLAYING CAREER: North Carolina, 1998-2001; Oakland Raiders, 2002-08.
COACHING CAREER: Mooresville Christian Academy (Head Coach), 2010-12; San Francisco 49ers, 2013-15; New Orleans Saints, 2016-.
