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.
