Last week the Houston Texans fired defensive coordinator Richard Smith, and the Denver Broncos made the surprising decision to fire head coach Mike Shanahan, reportedly in part because of his refusal to fire defensive coordinator Bob Slowik.

And earlier this season, the struggling San Diego Chargers fired defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell before they turned their fortunes around.

What do those teams have in common? They all ranked in the top 11 in the league offensively, and none of them finished above .500 in the regular season.

Only one other team fits that description -- the Saints, who ranked No. 1 in the NFL on offense and 23rd on defense. But the Saints have given no indication if they plan to follow the trend or stay pat with defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs and his staff.

The Saints' assistant coaches were given last week off. They are expected to return to work in the coming days.

It would make sense that if the Saints plan to make any changes to their staff, they would do so this week. But Saints Coach Sean Payton refused to set any timetable for such decisions when he last met with the media last Monday, and he was non-committal about Gibbs' status.

"The day after the season ends, we're not answering those questions," he said then. "It's unfair to Gary. It's unfair to point out specific players or coaches. Any change we make or decision we make, we'll let you know."

Presumably, Payton and General Manager Mickey Loomis had not made any concrete determination at that point, and they used last week to review any possible staff changes.

As evidenced by the Packers' decision Monday, these kinds of moves don't always come immediately. And certainly, it's not an easy choice for the Saints.

Payton has a lot of respect for Gibbs, who became the first member of his staff when he followed him from Dallas to New Orleans three years ago. Payton said last week that the defensive philosophy is one that they share. And it would be tough to pin the blame on Gibbs after the Saints' defense was decimated by injuries in 2008.

However, the defense has not shown significant progress over the past three years, even with an influx of new players through trades, free agency and the draft. The Saints have struggled to get consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks, and their secondary has been burned repeatedly over the top by deep passing plays.

Perhaps most significantly, the Saints have received very little in return on their hefty investments on defensive ends Charles Grant and Will Smith the past two years. Though both players have battled injuries, the Saints need to find a way to maximize their abilities.

If the Saints elect to make a change, there are several intriguing coordinator candidates on the market.

Recently fired head coaches Mike Nolan, Eric Mangini, Romeo Crennel and Rod Marinelli all earned their reputations on defense -- though Mangini and Crennel prefer a 3-4 defensive scheme, which likely wouldn't fit the personnel in New Orleans. Even with a new coordinator, the Saints almost would certainly continue to use a 4-3 alignment.

Jacksonville defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, one of the league's most respected defensive minds, reportedly might be available, too. His contract is up, and he might not return to the Jaguars.

Former Saints coach Jim Haslett also could be back on the market if he is not retained by St. Louis, where he was interim coach -- though it's safe to say he wouldn't emerge as a candidate to return to New Orleans.

Several other experienced assistants are looking for jobs because entire staffs were fired in places such as Denver, New York, Cleveland and Detroit, with possible others still to come.

The competition for the top defensive assistants likely will get pretty heated in the coming weeks, with so many teams in the market for a new defensive architect. It likely will be known soon whether or not the Saints will be in that number.

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Mike Triplett can be reached at mtriplett@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3405.