Six potential defensive coordinators for the Philadelphia Eagles

After all, Nick Sirianni is not going anywhere.

The head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles looks to be coming back for a fourth season in 2024, after many questioned if he would still be employed after the 2023 season collapsed.

However, the coaching staff in Philadelphia underwent alterations. According to CBS Sports, the firings of senior defensive assistant Matt Patricia, defensive coordinator Sean Desai, and offensive coordinator Brian Johnson occurred.

After Desai was demoted in Week 15, Patricia assumed leadership of the defensive playcalling team.

Here are some possible candidates to succeed Desai and Patricia as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator going forward:

Wink Martindale

Don “Wink” Martindale may be recognizable to Eagles supporters as he was the New York Giants’ defensive coordinator for the previous two seasons.

The Giants, who finished the 2023 season with a 6-11 record, and Martindale “decided to separate ways,” according to a team statement.

Compared to the defensive coordinators the Eagles have previously hired, Martindale’s hiring would represent a shift in mindset.

Martindale is on the other extreme of the blitzing scale compared to Jonathan Gannon and Desai. Every time the Giants have faced Jalen Hurts and the Eagles in the last two seasons, he has shown that he is not afraid to apply pressure on quarterbacks.

While the Giants defense under Martindale finished the 2023 season tied for first in takeaways—something the Eagles did not have last season—they were mediocre against the pass and fared poorly against the run.

Martindale also served as an NFL defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos in 2010 and the Baltimore Ravens from 2018 to 21.

Dennard Wilson

Dennard Wilson worked with the Eagles as a defensive backs coach and coordinator of the passing game last season. However, Wilson left the team when Philly hired Desai to be the defensive coordinator, and Wilson subsequently accepted a position coaching defensive backs in Baltimore.

NFL Network revealed last year that Wilson was a finalist for the defensive coordinator position, which ultimately went to Desai. Cornerbacks Darius Slay and James Bradberry were among the Eagles players who gave Wilson a lot of support to get the job, but the organization decided to go in a different way.

Wilson coached the secondary in 2022, when Slay and Bradberry both had some of their greatest seasons. It is unknown if Wilson would want to go back to Philadelphia.

Wilson doesn’t have experience as a defensive coordinator but has held other defensive backs coaching jobs with the St. Louis Rams and New York Jets.

Glenn Schumann

The University of Georgia defense has produced several players selected by the Eagles already. What would happen if they employed one of the brains behind the group that has won two National Championships and other first-round selections?

In that scenario, the Eagles might choose to go with Georgia’s defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann. He had a job interview prior to Desai being employed by the Eagles.

If Schumann, 33, joins the team, he will be among the NFL’s youngest defensive coordinators.

Schumann’s journey to become a collegiate coach is an intriguing one, as he followed an alternative path. The native of Valdosta, Georgia, did not participate in collegiate football. Instead, in an effort to absorb as much as possible, he enrolled at Alabama to work as a student assistant management under former head coach Nick Saban.

Grad assistant Schumann soon became close to defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, who went on to become Georgia’s head coach, and Saban. Before the 2022 season, he worked his way up from the position of inside linebackers coach to defense coordinator.

Ron Rivera

Ron Rivera could be the Eagles’ best option if they are searching for a more seasoned defensive coordinator to work with Sirianni.

After playing linebacker for eight years, Rivera, now sixty-two, began his career as a coach in the NFL in the 1990s. In addition to winning Coach of the Year honors in 2013 and 2015, he played in the 2015 Super Bowl with the Carolina Panthers.

The Eagles were scheduled to interview Rivera for the position of defensive coordinator following his dismissal as the head coach of the Washington Commanders during the 2023 campaign, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

In his four years in Washington, Rivera’s teams never finished with more than eight victories, although his defenses had strong seasons in 2020 and 2022, finishing in the top 10 in yards and points allowed each year.

In addition to his success as head coach in Carolina, Rivera was a successful defensive coordinator with the Chicago Bears and San Diego Chargers.

Rivera was a linebackers coach with the Eagles under Andy Reid from 1999 to 2003.

Al Harris

Al Harris, who played for 15 years and was among the league’s top cornerbacks, would provide a lot of secondary knowledge to an Eagles defense that was consistently outclassed by opposing offenses in 2023.

Although Harris is somewhat inexperienced for the position of defensive coordinator, his players have performed well while he has been the defensive backs coach for the Dallas Cowboys.

Harris was a player for the Eagles from 1998 to 2002.

Mike Caldwell

Another possible candidate for defensive coordinator with connections to the Eagles is Mike Caldwell.

After missing the playoffs in 2023, Caldwell was fired by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Caldwell began his career with Reid in Philadelphia in 2008 as a defensive quality control coach.

ESPN stated that Caldwell would be interviewed by the Eagles for the defensive coordinator position on the squad.

Caldwell, who coached inside linebackers for the Arizona Cardinals, Jets, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was hired as a defensive coordinator for the first time by the Jaguars.

Caldwell was the defensive coordinator for the Jaguars in 2023. His defense finished the season rated ninth in running yards allowed, 26th against the pass, eighth in takeaways, and 17th in points allowed.