Oct 6, 2024; London, United Kingdom; New York Jets coach Robert Saleh reacts against the Minnesota Vikings in the first half at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

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Latest NFL Defensive Coordinator Hirings

Many defensive coordinators will be seen with new teams this year

Oct 6, 2024; London, United Kingdom; New York Jets coach Robert Saleh reacts against the Minnesota Vikings in the first half at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

With the end of yet another season, teams will be looking to make an abundance of changes with regard to players, coaches, personnel, and more. One of the most important points of business early on in the off-season is to finalize the new coaching staff as it gives them ample time to figure out and plan ahead for the new season. With that in mind, let us go over the new defensive coordinator positions that have been filled lately.

Defensive Coordinator Changes

Anthony Campanile – Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars have made an important appointment with their defense, hiring Anthony Campanile as their defensive coordinator. Campanile has primarily worked as the Linebackers coach during his 4-year tenure in the league but also had the additional responsibility of the Running backs coach last year with the Green Bay Packers.

The Jaguars had a disappointing campaign this past season especially considering that this was a team looking to work its way back into the playoffs at the start of the year. The Jaguars ended the 2024 season allowing 389.9 yards per game on defense which put them in 31st place just one spot from the bottom. With 25.6 points allowed per game, the Jaguars also found themselves tied for 27th in the league. These are numbers that need to drastically improve should Jacksonville want to get back to winning ways.

Matt Eberflus – Dallas Cowboys

The hiring of Matt Eberflus by Dallas could be a good move as Eberflus will bring lots of experience on the defensive side of the ball. As a former Chicago Bears head coach, Eberflus built a solid defense that stood out in multiple categories.

Also Read: Nick Sirianni’s roller-coaster journey towards Super Bowl win!

Steve Wilks – New York Jets

Steve Wilks, who has been hired by the New York Jets as their new DC will need to drastically improve the team this season. Although the Jets possess a strong defense, the appointment of Wilks could take them further. In 2023, Wilks oversaw another great defense in San Francisco as the 49ers made it to the Super Bowl that year.

Robert Saleh – San Francisco 49ers

After reaching the Super Bowl in the 2023 season, the 49ers had a down year in 2024. Looking to regroup and get back to their winning ways, the Kyle Shanahan-led franchise has rehired their former DC in Robert Saleh.

Although Saleh’s stint as a head coach with the Jets wasn’t fruitful, he achieved a great deal of success in San Fran by shaping an all-around defense. He is known for his innovative defensive schemes and the ability to bring out the best in his defenders.

Al Golden – Cincinnati Bengals

2024 was a rather strange year for the Cincinnati Bengals. They started the year with multiple losses and by the time they picked up steam it was too little too late. Golden brings in plenty of experience and is also familiar with the Bengals having worked as their linebackers coach in 2020 and 2021.

Since 2022, Golden has held the defensive coordinator role at Notre Dame. He was also the head coach for several years at both Temple and Miami.

Terrell Williams – New England Patriots

New England’s new DC is Terrell Williams who is another coach with lots of experience under his belt. This will, however, be the first time he is holding the defensive coordinator position having almost extensively worked as a defensive line coach throughout his coaching tenure.

Nevertheless, in 2024, Williams was also the run game coordinator along with his D-line coaching duties with the Detroit Lions.

Lou Anarumo – Indianapolis Colts

The Colts have gone with former Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo. After an 8-9 season where Indy missed out on the playoffs, the Colts are looking to get back to the postseason. Anarumo has had plenty of success running the defense in the recent past with the Bengals and will look to translate that to his new team.

Jeff Ulbrich – Atlanta Falcons

Jeff Ulbrich makes his way back to the Atlanta Falcons. Previously, he held various positions on the Falcons coaching staff from 2015 to 2020. In 2021, he took over the defensive coordinator role with the New York Jets and held it till the end of the 2024 season. After the axing of Robert Saleh, Ulbrich was appointed as the Jets’ interim head coach for most of the 2024 season.

Matt Eberflus

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Robert Saleh

Steve Wilks

Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!