Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Who the Dolphins are interview to replace Vic Fangio.
The Miami Dolphins, following the conclusion of their 2023 campaign, have parted ways with defensive coordinator Vic Fangio after just one season.
Now, before Miami fully dives into the process of preparing for 2024, they’ll need to find a replacement for Fangio to lead the team’s defense.
We’ll keep track of all coaches who are interviewing or being requested to interview for the position here:
We’re tracking and identifying the current candidates who have interviewed for the Philadelphia Eagles vacant defensive coordinator position and a new favorite to land the job
In a move speculated on for weeks, Ian Rapoport reported that Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni had fired defensive coordinator Sean Desai.
The Eagles finished the season with six losses in their last seven games, with those losses by an average of 15 points, and their only win since Week 12 came against the Giants after they nearly blew a 17-point lead.
Desai was stripped of playcalling duties before Week 15, and the move comes after Philadelphia finished their second-half collapse with a 32-9 loss to the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Monday night.
With the move now official, we’re tracking coordinator candidates ahead of the Senior Bowl and the new league year.
Jaguars are set to hire former Falcons’ defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen as their new defensive coordinator
Philadelphia is looking for a new defensive play-caller after head coach Nick Sirianni fired Sean Desai before he met with owner Jeffrey Lurie.
Senior defensive assistant Matt Patricia had his contract expire, and he’ll explore other league opportunities.
According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, the Eagles had already reached out to interview former Falcons and Saints assistant coach Ryan Nielsen for the vacant defensive coordinator job.
That won’t happen, as Adam Schefter reports Nielsen is taking his talents to Jacksonville to join Doug Pederson’s staff as the Jaguars defensive coordinator.
Jaguars are set to hire former Falcons’ defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen as their new defensive coordinator, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 22, 2024
Nielsen’s defensive schemes focus on his unit stopping the run out of a light box, and his aggressive approach upfront would have meshed with what Philadelphia has previously done.
The Falcon’s defense jumped to 24th this season in defense-adjusted value over average, which measures the efficiency with the opponent’s strength factored in after being 31st in 2022.
Atlanta’s pass rush went from 32nd in pressure rate in 2022 to 11th under Nielsen in 2023.
Most importantly, the Falcon’s defense under Nielsen ranked 17th in blitz percentage last season compared to the Eagle’s 24th-ranked unit.
Philadelphia will now turn towards landing an interview with Wink Martindale, while the team is also interviewing former Commander’s head coach, Ron Rivera.
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The Philadelphia Eagles have reached to Wink Martindale about interest in their vacant defensive coordinator position after firing Sean Desai
Philadelphia is looking for a new defensive play-caller after head coach Nick Sirianni fired Sean Desai before he met with owner Jeffrey Lurie.
Senior defensive assistant Matt Patricia had his contract expire, and he’ll explore other league opportunities.
According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, the Eagles have already reached out to interview former Giants and Ravens assistant coach Wink Martindale for the vacant defensive coordinator job.
As expected, the Eagles fired defensive coordinator Sean Desai. (@RapSheet first)
Over the last week, both Howie Roseman & Nick Sirianni have been reaching out to available coordinators, including former Giants DC Wink Martindale and former Falcons DC Ryan Nielsen. There are more— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) January 22, 2024
The 60-year-old is a free agent and Martindale has been an NFL assistant since 2004, spending the majority of his time with the Baltimore Ravens.
Philadelphia lacks agression on defense and Martindale would be a departure to the passive approaches of Jonathan Gannon and Sean Desai.
Martindale would be the closest thing to the late-great Jim Johnson in regards to philospy and pressure approach.
Martindale called blitzes on 46% of the Giants’ defensive plays last season — double the percentage the Eagles sent extra rushers in the regular season.
His blitz package is unpredictable, and Philadelphia has proof that it’s effective, with Jalen Hurts having faced the Giants multiple times a year over his first four years in the league.
The Philadelphia Eagles have reached to Ryan Nielsen about interest in their vacant defensive coordinator position after firing Sean Desai
Philadelphia is looking for a new defensive play-caller after head coach Nick Sirianni fired Sean Desai before he met with owner Jeffrey Lurie.
Senior defensive assistant Matt Patricia had his contract expire, and he’ll explore other league opportunities.
According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, the Eagles have already reached out to interview former Falcons and Saints assistant coach Ryan Nielsen for the vacant defensive coordinator job.
As expected, the Eagles fired defensive coordinator Sean Desai. (@RapSheet first)
Over the last week, both Howie Roseman & Nick Sirianni have been reaching out to available coordinators, including former Giants DC Wink Martindale and former Falcons DC Ryan Nielsen. There are more— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) January 22, 2024
Nielsen’s defensive schemes focus on his unit stopping the run out of a light box, and his aggressive approach upfront will gel with what Philadelphia has previously done.
The Falcon’s defense jumped to 24th this season in defense-adjusted value over average, which measures the efficiency with the opponent’s strength factored in after being 31st in 2022.
Atlanta’s pass rush went from 32nd in pressure rate in 2022 to 11th under Nielsen in 2023.
Most importantly, the Falcon’s defense under Nielsen ranked 17th in blitz percentage last season compared to the Eagle’s 24th-ranked unit.
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We’re looking at seven realistic candidates who could replace Sean Desai and Matt Patricia as Defensive Coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles
A move that has been speculated on for weeks has happened after Ian Rapoport reported that Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has fired defensive coordinator Sean Desai.
The Eagles finished the season with six losses in their last seven games, with those losses by an average of 15 points, and their only win since Week 12 came against the Giants after they nearly blew a 17-point lead.
Nick Sirianni did the firing, an NFL source said, another indication that the #Eagles HC will be returning.
The Desai departure was obvious, as will be Patricia joining him. More changes will be coming to Sirianni’s staff.
OC Brian Johnson is currently interviewing for HC… https://t.co/w245we5kOT
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) January 22, 2024
Desai was stripped of playcalling duties before Week 15, and the move comes after Philadelphia finished their second-half collapse with a 32-9 loss to the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Monday night.
With the move now official, we’re looking at seven realistic candidates who could replace Sean Desai and Matt Patricia.
After finishing their exit meeting, Eagles GM Howie Roseman and head coach Nick Sirianni have begun reaching out to potential coordinator candidates
It appears that Nick Sirianni will be safe and keep his job as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles after meeting with owner Jeffrey Lurie and GM Howie Roseman.
The same can’t be said for his assistants on both sides of the football.
Dianna Russini reports that Roseman and Sirianni have contacted potential coordinator candidates on the offensive and defensive sides.
Both Eagles GM Howie Roseman and HC Nick Sirianni have been reaching out to available NFL coaches and coordinators, as well as coaching agents across the league to evaluate potential coordinator candidates to join their coaching staff as they plan for the 2024 season.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) January 18, 2024
Sirianni gets much credit for the Eagles’ success over the past three seasons.
Still, after a late-season meltdown that saw the Eagles go 1-6 in their final seven games, including the playoffs, the head coach and his assistant coaches expected were on the hot seat.
Philadelphia’s third-year head coach has far exceeded expectations, but it’s clear that Gannon and Steichen played far more prominent roles than we thought.
We previewed potential offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator candidates, and as the process began, the dominoes started to fall.
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With exit interviews set to begin, we’re looking at ten candidates who could replace Sean Desai and Matt Patricia if they depart.
Nick Sirianni officially has his coaching tree after the Cardinals hired Jonathan Gannon and the Colts hired Shane Steichen in the 2023 coaching carousel.
Sirianni rightfully gets a lot of credit for the Eagles’ success.
Still, after a late-season meltdown that saw the Eagles go 1-6 in their final seven games, including the playoffs, the head coach and his assistant coaches could be on the hot seat.
Philadelphia’s third-year head coach has far exceeded expectations, but it’s clear that Gannon and Steichen played far more prominent roles than we thought.
With exit interviews set to begin, we’re looking at ten candidates who could replace Sean Desai and Matt Patricia if they depart.
The Raiders interviewed former Saints co-defensive coordinator Kris Richard for their open head coach job:
Here’s a name we hadn’t heard from in a while: Kris Richard. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Las Vegas Raiders interviewed the former New Orleans Saints co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach for their head coach opening on Tuesday. Richard was out of the NFL in 2023 after parting ways with the Saints last offseason.
And he wasn’t the only candidate to discuss the opportunity with the Raiders. Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier also interviewed for the opening, but all signs point to owner Mark Davis going with interim head coach Antonio Pierce. So while these interviews were conducted to satisfy the Rooney Rule by considering external minority candidates, it’s possible either Richard or Frazier could still end up on staff.
Richard has interviewed for several head coach openings over the years after successful runs with the Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys, and the Saints as a defensive play caller and position coach. We’ll see if anything materializes on this front in the days ahead.
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Former Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier reportedly will be interviewing to be the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Buffalo Bills are preparing to face the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild-Card round of the AFC playoffs on Sunday as they look to make it to the Super Bowl.
However, there is some important news happening for someone who used to have a big influence on the Bills, especially on the defensive side of the football.
Former Buffalo defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier will be interviewing for the Los Angeles Chargers’ vacant head coaching job, according to NFL insider Adam Schefter of ESPN.
From 2017 to 2022, Frazier was the defensive coordinator for the Bills and also had the role of assistant head coach starting with the 2020 season.
After the conclusion of the 2022 season, Buffalo announced that Frazier would not be returning as the defensive coordinator for the 2023 season, but that he intended to return to coaching for the 2024 season.
According to various reports, Frazier wanted to take a year off despite leading one of the top defenses in the NFL since he became the defensive play-caller.
It was implied after the news that part of the reason for Frazier stepping away was because of some disagreements between him and head coach Sean McDermott. More to the point, it wasn’t indicated whether Frazier would return to the Bills in any capacity.
After Schefter’s report, it looks like Frazier has his sights set on something bigger.
Frazier previously was a head coach with the Minnesota Vikings from 2010 to 2013. During his time in Buffalo, Frazier had multiple interviews for head-coaching vacancies but was never hired by a team.
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