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.
Wink Martindale
Martindale’s defense ranked No. 27 in 2023, but the Giants defense also tied the Bills for the most total takeaways (31) by any team in the NFL.
He oversaw three top-10 units as the Ravens’ defensive coordinator from 2018-21 and helped Baltimore win the Super Bowl as a linebackers’ coach.
Philadelphia needs a culture change, and Martindale’s pressure-packed approach is the remedy.
Leslie Frazier, ex-Bills defensive coordinator
Frazier was a finalist for the Giants’ head coaching job that went to Brian Daboll and he was successful as the defensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills.
His Bills defense was a top-five unit in each of his final three seasons.
Jesse Minter
Age: 40 years old
Current title: Defensive coordinator, Michigan (2022-)
Prior experience: Baltimore Ravens defensive backs coach (2020) and Vanderbilt defensive coordinator/safeties coach (2021)
2023 DC interview: Philadelphia Eagles
Minter interviewed for the position last offseason and would bring the pressure package badly needed.
Minter led college football’s top-ranked defense in 2023, as the Michigan Wolverines finished first in both scoring defense and yards allowed. Minter is among the elite defensive coordinators in college football, and interviewed for this position last offseason.
Glenn Schumann
Schumann is co-defensive coordinator for the Bulldogs and calls the plays for the two-time defending champs.
Here’s UGA defensive assistant Glenn Schumann talking about the necessity to play with a “Mirror” player vs QBs that can create vs tight coverage on 3rd down. Aggressive spy attacks after flushing the QB instead of your usual twist games out of four down. https://t.co/jUqsbNFavi pic.twitter.com/2X9bcgYT0B
— Diante Lee (@DianteLeeFB) February 8, 2021
Schumann interviewed with the Eagles last offseason for the same job.
Eric Washington
Washington joined the Bills in 2020 as the team’s defensive line coach and was promoted to senior defensive assistant/ defensive line coach prior to the 2022 season. Previously, he was the defensive line coach (2011-17) and defensive coordinator for the Panthers (2018-19), along with holding various positions with the Bears.
Buffalo’s 2021 defense ranked first in the NFL in fewest points allowed per game (17.0) for the first time in franchise history and also finished first in fewest yards allowed per game (272.8) and the fewest passing yards per game (163.0). With 19 sacks, Buffalo’s defense also fueled a 4-game win streak to finish the regular season
Carolina ranked second in sacks and fifth in quarterback hits under Washington after he took over for Sean McDermott.
Ejiro Evero, Panthers defensive coordinator
Carolina had the worst team in the league in 2023, but Evero turned the Panthers’ defense into a solid unit. This season, Evero’s defense ranks third in the league in passing yards allowed, sixth in passing touchdowns, and third in total yards allowed. That carries over from when he was the defensive coordinator in Denver in 2022, where his unit ranked seventh in the league in total yards allowed.
Evero, 43, led the Broncos’ top-10 defense during the 2022 NFL season despite having to support one of the league’s weakest offenses.
Chris Shula, Rams pass game coordinator/linebackers coach
Shula is the son of former Bengals head coach David Shula and the grandson of Don Shula.
He has been with the Rams since 2017 and worked as the linebackers coach before becoming the defensive backs coach, and passing game coordinator in 2022.
He was on the same Chargers staff as Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni in 2015 and 2016.
Wild Card--Jim Leonhard
Current title: Senior football analyst, Illinois (2023)
Prior experience: Wisconsin defensive backs coach (2016), Wisconsin defensive coordinator & defensive backs coach (2017-2022) and Wisconsin interim head coach (2022).
Leonard interviewed with the Eagles last offseason before deciding against the move.
Wild Card--Al Harris
A former NFL defensive back who began his career with the Eagles from 1998-2002, Harris has blossomed since becoming the Cowboys’ defensive backs coach in 2020.
In that stretch, Harris has coached and developed Trevon Diggs, DaRon Bland, Jayron Kearse and more.
Wild Card--Bring back Dennard Wilson
Wilson had a fan in Eagles cornerback Darius Slay, and he’s coached up the Ravens secondary despite a ton of injuries.
Sirianni would have to apologize and increase the money after passing over Wilson for Desai, but he’s familiar with the roster and style of play Sirianni prefers.
