The Philadelphia Eagles have fired defensive coordinator Sean Desai. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the news on Sunday Night.

Midway through the regular season, Desai was replaced as play-caller by longtime Patriots assistant and former Lions head coach Matt Patricia.

Make no mistake about it, Desai’s defense wasn’t great. At the time of his demotion, the unit ranked 26th in the league in yards allowed, 22nd in total defense, 28th in points per game, and 32nd in third-down pass defense

At the same time, there were flashes such as holding the Chiefs scoreless in the 2nd half of their matchup or holding the Cowboys out of the end zone in the 2nd half of the Eagles second matchup with them.

Nevertheless, Desai has been fired. In no particular order, here are five names the Eagles should consider, in addition to the reported names they’ve announced will be interviewed.

Honorable Mentions

These are guys who would be home-run hires, but (in my opinion) aren’t likely.

Jesse Minter

Minter is the wonder kid of this year’s defensive coordinator candidate cycle. As the defensive coordinator for the National Champion Michigan Wolverines, Minter’s stock is as high as ever. Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh is a head coaching candidate and has interviewed with the Chargers and Falcons. I believe that where Harbaugh goes, Minter will follow,

Leslie Frazier

If the Eagles opt to go for the safe, veteran hire, this is their guy. Frazier, 64, has been a defensive coordinator with the Bengals, Vikings, Buccaneers, and (most recently) Bills. Frazier is also the former head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.

With Wink Martindale out in New York, I think it’s near a lock that Frazier winds up in New York. Frazier was a finalist for the Giants job that went to Brian Daboll. Frazier and Daboll were the defensive and offensive coordinators with the Bills from 2018-2021.

Dennard Wilson

It seemed like former Eagles defensive backs coach and current Ravens Defensive Backs Coach, Dennard Wilson was in line to become the Eagles defensive coordinator after Jonathan Gannon took the head coaching job with the Arizona Cardinals.

Wilson, a popular figure in the Eagles locker room, interviewed for the open defensive coordinator position, but the two sides agreed to, “mutually part ways,” according to Nick Sirianni. There were likely philosophical differences between Wilson’s preferred identity of the defense and Sirianni’s.

With the position open once again, Wilson will likely be a name to watch, but I can’t see anything concrete materializing.

Reported Interviews

Ron Rivera

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that the longtime Commanders and Panthers head coach is interviewing with the Eagles for their vacant defensive coordinator position on Monday.

Rivera would bring a goldmine of experience to head coach Nick Sirianni. Rivera has also been a very productive defensive coordinator. His body of work is extensive. In his 19 seasons as either a defensive coordinator or head coach, his units have finished top ten in scoring seven times.

Rivera’s connections to the Eagles stretch back decades. He was the team’s linebacker coach from 1999-2003 and has been referenced as a “family member,” by Eagles owner Jeff Lurie. As a former linebacker, Rivera would also likely advocate for more investments at the linebacker position.

Schematically, Rivera has run pretty much everything from Tampa 2 to a 3-4 base front. He’s shown the ability to adapt depending on his personnel which is crucial for success in today’s NFL.

Rivera would bring a no-nonsense, true professional approach to the Eagles defense.

Mike Caldwell

It wasn’t specified if Caldwell is interviewing for the defensive coordinator position, just that he was interviewing with the team.

If he is interviewing for the coordinator position, Caldwell has one year of experience as a defensive coordinator (Jaguars – 2022-2023), with the bulk of his coaching experience coming as a linebacker coach. Caldwell should be a familiar face to Eagles fans as he played for the team from 1998-2001 and got his start in the coaching ranks with the team in 2008.

In addition to his time with the Eagles, Caldwell coached with the Cardinals (inside linebackers coach), Jets (Assistant head coach and inside linebackers coach), and Buccaneers (inside linebacker coach).

It’s been a bit of a mixed bag for Caldwell as a defensive coordinator, but as a developer of talent, specifically linebacker, Caldwell has shined. He played a huge role in the development of Devin White with the Buccaneers and Foyesade Oluokun.

In 2022 Caldwell’s defense with the Jaguars ranked 12th in EPA per play, 19th in success rate, 26th in total DVOA, 30th in passing DVOA, and 11th in rushing DVOA. In 2023, the unit ranked 10th in EPA per play, 14th in success rate, and 10th in total DVOA. Statistically, the unit improved in Caldwell’s 2nd year but after the team lost five of their last six games and Jacksonville’s defense fell off a cliff, change needed to happen somewhere.

During the six-game stretch, Jacksonville ranked 27th in defensive EPA per play.

5) Kris Richard

A former rising star in coaching circles across the NFL, Richard is a former defensive coordinator with the Seahawks, Cowboys, and Saints. In his time in Seattle, his defenses finished 1st, 3rd, and 13th in points allowed.

Richard is a Pete Carroll disciple, playing for Carroll at USC and coaching under him for eight seasons.

Like Carroll, Richard utilizes a ton of single high, Cover 3 concepts with long and rangy corners.

Richard is known for his infectious attitude and amped-up approach to coaching.

The Dallas Morning News described Richard’s charisma as “intoxicating.”

Former Cowboys cornerback Byron Jones said of Richard: “He brings the juice every single day. There’s not a day he’s relaxed.”

4) Jim Leonhard

The Eagles interviewed Leonhard last offseason before hiring Desai, so there is some familiarity there. Both sides mutually agreed to not move forward with his candidacy, although there was reported interest on both sides.

Leonhard spent the 2023-24 season as a senior football analyst with the University of Illinois. During his time as the defensive coordinator at the University of Wisconsin, Leonhard’s defenses ranked in the top five in college football in total defense and he coordinated a unit that ranked in the top 10 in scoring defense four times.

Leonhard’s defenses utilize a ton of creepers, simulated pressure looks, and a ton of variety in fronts. Pass coverage-wise, Leonhard plays a lot of cover 3, MOF closed looks. The main thing with Leonhard is the multiplicity with which he calls his defenses.

If the interest is still there from both sides, Leonhard would be a home-run hire.

3) Glenn Schumann

The current defensive coordinator with the Georgia Bulldogs would be a very interesting addition.

The Eagles brass talks a lot about formulating a ‘co-habitation matrix’ with the players they bring into the organization. Adding Schumann would be an extension of that. Schumann is very familiar with the young nucleus of the Philadelphia Eagles defense: Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean, Nolan Smith, and Kelee Ringo.

It seems likely that each of those players will play a crucial role in the future of the Eagles defense so bringing in a coordinator who is familiar with them would be a huge plus.

Schumann has coached with some of the best college coaches in the world in Nick Saban and Kirby Smart. The 33-year-old Schumann would likely utilize both 3 and 4 down fronts along with a variety of coverage shells on the back end. Like his 2 mentors, Schumann’s defense would likely focus on unpredictability and throwing a variety of looks at opposing offenses.

The Eagles interviewed Schumann last offseason before hiring Sean Desai.

2) Chris Shula

If the Eagles opt to go with a coach with familiarity with Nick Sirianni, Shula is the likely choice. Shula has been with the Rams since 2017. He’s worked as their assistant linebackers coach (2017-2018), outside linebackers coach (2019-2020), linebackers coach (2021), pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach (2022), and is the current pass rush coordinator and linebackers coach.

Sirianni and Shula coached together on the Los Angeles Chargers staff from 2015-2016. Shula is the son of former Bengals head coach Dave Shula and also the grandson of the late Hall of Fame coach, Don Shula.

From a schematic standpoint, there isn’t a ton known about what Shula would do, but considering he’s spent time under the tutelage of Wade Phillips, Brandon Staley, and Raheem Morris, it can be inferred that he’d likely implore some variation of a 3-4 defense.

1) Wink Martindale

Martindale is quite likely the number-one defensive coordinator available on the market at the moment.

He needs no introduction. His defensive approach can be defined in one word: aggression.

Martindale flat-out throws the kitchen sink at opposing offenses: heavy press-man coverage, tons of disguise, and a go-big or go-home approach.

The thing I love about this approach is he dictates to offenses and makes the opposing offense feel his unit. The 60-year-old would be a huge philosophical change for a team that has been married to the Vic Fangio ‘bend don’t break’ approach.

The former Giants and Ravens defensive coordinator’s units have statistically been among the NFL’s best. His unit tied for first in takeaways in 2023. In his first three years with the Ravens, his units ranked first in either yards or points allowed and finished in the top 10 in DVOA.

Martindale would bring a defensive approach not seen in Philadelphia since the days of the late great Jim Johnson.

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