Former Kansas University assistant and interim head football coach Tom Hayes has joined the coaching staff of the New Orleans Saints.

First-year Saints head coach Sean Payton on Tuesday named Hayes the NFL club’s secondary coach.

Hayes was defensive coordinator of the Jayhawks when Terry Allen was fired with three games remaining in the 2001 season. Hayes finished that season as interim head coach.

For the next two years, Hayes owned and operated Tanner’s, a sports bar in Lawrence. Then he sold the establishment and worked during the 2005 season as defensive coordinator at Stanford.

Hayes has prior NFL experience. He was the secondary coach of the Washington Redskins for six years (1995-2000).