Boise State Athletics
By Ross Jackson
Weeks after the departure of their former director of rehab, Jonathan Gress, the New Orleans Saints have hired his replacement.
Per Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football, the Saints have tapped former Boise State assistant athletic director of sports performance and health and wellness Garrett Holle. Hailing from the same alma mater as new head coach Kellen Moore, Holle brings with him the vast education he picked up from Fort Hayes State (2016), Kansas (2019) and Northern Arizona (2023). He was also a former wide receiver at Fort Hayes State.
Holle’s experience ranges from biology to personal training to athletic training. Freshly upon arriving at Boise State, he created a long-term rehab plan for a Broncos wide receiver, Latrell Caples.
Caples had torn his achilles and Holle was responsible for building, tracking and maintaining the wideout’s recovery. He did so with fresh perspectives and new approaches.
Around the same time, former New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers had ruptured his achilles in the opening game of the 2023 NFL season. Holle used Rodgers’ optimistic return timeline motivation for the young wide receiver. Holle wasn’t going to try to push him to make the same 20-week return timeline that the veteran quarterback set for himself, and ultimately did not meet, but he wanted the receiver to have an aggressive mentality about managing his recovery.
“I had the ideal scenario where I didn’t need to put him on a quick timeline,” Holle said. “I could be very specific and intentional and check every box that I wanted. We were able to get very granular and specific in how we returned him. I think it’s paid off for him. It’s a six to eight-month journey to take him from that tendon that was tore in half to being able to be a top tier athlete like Latrell is.”
Holle put a lot of emphasis on not just helping Caples return to the field, but to also do so while maintaining what it is that made him special on the field.
From progress videos to show Caples his progression to celebrating the personal growth of the player throughout his recovery, Holle’s previous success makes it simple to see why the Saints identified him their next director of rehabilitation, an area the Saints have struggled in the recent past with numerous setbacks taking place while trying to get players back on the field.
“He pushed me,” Caples said via Boise State’s story on his return to the field. “It felt good to have him there too. He allowed me to grow in my process and help me rehab better. We’re really close. He’s a guy that I listen to and respect. We’re really connected on a deep level.”
