• By SHELDON MICKLES
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Jan 13, 2009 - UPDATED: 6:38 a.m.

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New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton hired an assistant coach on Monday, but it wasn’t the defensive coordinator he’s been seeking since firing Gary Gibbs last Wednesday.

Payton, who on Saturday night hired Bill Johnson to coach the defensive line, continued to shape his staff for the 2009 season Monday by hiring Bret Ingalls as running backs coach and promoting three other coaches already on the offensive staff.

In addition to hiring Ingalls, Payton completed his offensive staff by promoting quarterbacks coach Pete Carmichael Jr. to offensive coordinator, naming running backs coach Aaron Kromer as offensive line/running game coach, and offensive assistant Joe Lombardi as quarterbacks coach.

Carmichael took over the offensive coordinator duties and Kromer moved from running backs coach to offensive line coach for the final two games of the recently completed season after offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Doug Marrone resigned to become head coach at Syracuse.

Ingalls, a 23-year coaching veteran, has spent the last three seasons at Northwestern University. He also held the title of running game coordinator for the Wildcats.

In 2008, Ingalls started five new players for the majority of the season, but Northwestern averaged 141.8 rushing yards a game and allowed the second-fewest sacks in the Big Ten. Their play helped the Wildcats win nine games for only the fifth time in school history.

Payton and Ingalls worked together on the coaching staff at San Diego State in 1989, where Ingalls served as running backs coach when Marshall Faulk was there in 1993. Ingalls also was the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach during a five-year stay with the Aztecs.

“My philosophy in hiring coaches has always been to make finding teachers of the game and enthusiasm the biggest priorities during the interview process,” Payton said in a statement from the team.

“Bret is well respected for his knowledge and communication skills with players. He has a wealth of experience working with several position groups and as a coordinator, and I am very excited with what he will bring to our coaching staff.”

Carmichael has tutored the passing attack and worked with Drew Brees for the last three years — one of the most productive stretches for a quarterback in NFL history. Since 2006, Brees has thrown for a league-high 13,910 yards and 88 touchdowns.

Kromer, an 18-year coaching veteran, was the offensive line coach in Tampa Bay from 2005-07 and also worked for Oakland prior to his arrival in New Orleans last year.

Lombardi, the grandson of legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi, has been an offensive assistant with the Saints the last two years.