DC Update

The Eagles search for a defensive coordinator continues. Nick Sirianni is taking his time and talking to a lot of different people. He’s looking for the right person and not just trying to make a quick decision.

Vance Joseph held Zoom interview this morning with Eagles owner Jeffery Lurie and GM Howie Roseman for their D-coordinator position.
Joseph now awaits decision from both Eagles and Broncos. #9sports

— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) February 23, 2023

Joseph isn’t my preference, but he could be a solid choice. He’s got a lot of NFL experience. He’s not afraid to take risks. His background is coaching DBs, which is something Sirianni seems interested in.

The guy I did want will not be getting the job.

The #Eagles and Jim Leonhard mutually decided they would not move forward with his DC candidacy, per league sources. Leonhard had planned to undergo hip surgery and sit out coaching for a year, but when Eagles job opened, both sides had interest in discussing the position, which… https://t.co/3zG4r6Ryy4

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) February 22, 2023

Disappointing. I thought Leonhard would have been a good fit. Not sure exactly what happened there.

Lose one college coach, find another.

Source: Georgia Co-DC/ILB Coach Glenn Schumann to talk today with the Eagles about their vacant DC position.

— Dan Mathews (@DanMathewsATL) February 22, 2023

Schumann has no NFL experience and that’s not ideal. Still, he has done great things at Georgia, in terms of scheme and player development. The Bulldogs are both creative and sound with their defensive ideas. I could see Sirianni liking a lot of what they do.

There would be risk with this, but it also could be a high reward move if he turned out to be a great coach.

We don’t know if the Eagles have actually interviewed Sean Desai from Seattle. They requested permission, but we don’t have an update since then. He feels like the best candidate at this point. We’ll just have to wait and see how that goes. There isn’t a whole lot of info on Desai in the last couple of days. Is his agent keeping things really quiet or is he somehow flying under the media’s radar? Kinda weird.

I still think he’s a strong DC candidate.

*****

One of the things we haven’t really talked about is what Sirianni is looking for. This isn’t the hunt for the right scheme. He’s looking for the right person. Sirianni needs someone who can lead the defense. They must be able to connect with the players, first and foremost. Building a gameplan and teaching the scheme are obviously critical, but don’t do you any good if there isn’t a connection between the players and coach.

I’m looking for a coach who can come up with adjustments in critical situations. That might be a gameplan, halftime adjustments or even season adjustments. In the 2021 playoffs, the Chiefs were beating the Bengals 21-10 at halftime. DC Lou Anarumo made some changes and only gave up 3 points to KC in the second half. Think about Steve Spagnuolo moving from man coverage to more zone because he had rookie DBs. Brandon Staley used press coverage to throw off the Dolphins passing offense and Tua was just 10 of 28 in that game.

I don’t know what Sirianni is looking for, besides someone who shares his beliefs on limiting explosive plays and coming up with takeaways. When he makes a choice, we’ll start to get a better idea.

*****

Dennard Wilson is the only internal candidate that we know of. I’m sure Sirianni is high on him because he’s seen Wilson connect with the players and also teach the players. Wilson is a known commodity. Wilson has never run a defense on his own, though. That’s a big concern for me.

Neither had Jonathan Gannon, but that’s kind of my point. I would prefer a coach that has already learned through experience. Sirianni may feel differently.

Wilson spent a lot of time working under Gregg Williams, with both the Jets and Rams. Williams is a veteran DC who knows how to come up with a creative gameplan. Wilson isn’t just a Gannon disciple.

I’m sure Wilson also learned from the Super Bowl. I’d be asking a lot of questions about what he would have done differently. That would be a crucial discussion.

*****

The #Dolphins are hiring #Eagles defensive quality control Joe Kasper as their new safeties coach, per source.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 22, 2023

This is tough. Kasper is the kind of good young coach you want to keep and develop. Instead, he’ll go learn under Vic Fangio.

_