Philadelphia has at least six known DC candidates.
Two new names have emerged in the Philadelphia Eagles’ search for a new defensive coordinator.
According NFL Insider Mike Garafolo.
CHRIS SHULA
Garafolo notes that Shula and Nick Sirianni overlapped on the San Diego Chargers for two seasons in 2015 and 2016.
Shula then joined the Los Angeles Rams coaching staff in 2017 to reunite with former Miami (Ohio) teammate Sean McVay. The grandson of Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach Don Shula rose through the ranks as an assistant linebackers coach to his current title. Kinda interesting how he went from playing LB and coaching that position to moving to DB.
For what it’s worth, the Rams ranked 24th in defensive DVOA against passes in 2022. LA allowed the eighth most yards per pass attempt. Star cornerback Jalen Ramsey made the Pro Bowl but missed first-team AP All-Pro honors for the first time since 2019.
Shula doesn’t really look like a slam dunk contender.
JESSE MINTER
Minter shares a similarity with Sirianni in that they both played college football as wide receivers for Division III programs located in Ohio.
Minter, 39, began his coaching career as an intern at Notre Dame before eventually earning a defensive coordinator title at Georgia State. He then made the jump to the NFL ranks, spending four years with the Baltimore Ravens.
After coaching defensive backs under John Harbaugh in 2020, Minter spent a year at Vanderbilt before becoming defensive coordinator for Jim Harbaugh in 2022. Minter replaced Mike Macdonald, who was hired as the Ravens’ DC.
Our friends at Maize N Brew reflected on Minter’s success last year:
Michigan Football finished the 2022 season with a 13-1 record and had one of the best defenses in the nation. Michigan ranked 6th in total defense and defensive coordinator Jesse Minter was a Broyles Award semi-finalist in his first year on the job.
Minter’s recent success combined with his experience in the college and professional ranks could make him an intriguing candidate.
With the Eagles also supposed to interview Jim Leonhard, it’s clear the Birds are considering college coaches to replace Jonathan Gannon.
VANCE JOSEPH UPDATE
Denver’s Mike Klis originally reported the Eagles were to have a two-day remote interview process with former Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph Wednesday and Thursday.
But one more recent report from Klis states that Joseph had a 4.5 hour interview on Tuesday and will speak with Howie Roseman and Jeffrey Lurie on Wednesday.
Joseph is also still in the running for the Denver Broncos’ defensive coordinator opener.
Greg Schumann?
Here’s an interesting tweet from John Kincade of 97.5 The Fanatic, who was based in Atlanta before moving back to Philadelphia:
Kincade followed in a answer that he was not referring to Georgia Bulldogs co-defensive coordinator/safety coach Will Muschamp. This would lead one to believe that he may be referring to defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Glenn Schumann instead.
Schumann, 32, was a student assistant at Alabama from 2008 to 2011 before being a graduate assistant from 2011 to 2014. He then followed Kirby Smart to Georgia as an inside linebackers coach in 2016 before being promoted to his co-DC in 2019. .
In his current role, Schumann has been instrumental at Georgia by consistently having one of the best defenses in college football. The program has no shortage of NFL talent, as the Eagles know well from drafting two Dawgs last year. Notable players who were coached by Schumann include Nakobe Dean, Roquan Smith and Quay Walker.
With the Eagles interested in Leonhard and Minter, it would make sense for Schumann to be on board as well.
DC EAGLES RESEARCH SUMMARY
So, in case you’ve lost track, the Eagles have six known DC candidates:
- Dennard Wilson
- Vincent-Joseph
- Sean Desai
- Jim Leonhard
- Chris Shula
- Jesse Minter
And Schumann could also be a contender.
You’d think the Eagles would like to make a hire sooner rather than later.
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