The NFL offseason’s “musical chairs” extended beyond player activity on the free-agent market and head coach hirings and firings.
This offseason, defensive coordinators were changed by seventeen of the thirty-two teams in the league. As offseason workouts begin, those coordinators are currently implementing their new systems with their players.
As the season draws near, there is one crucial question that every new defensive play-caller must answer. (Note: Coach Matt Eberflus is anticipated to continue directing plays for his defense; hence, the Chicago Bears, who have Eric Washington as their new defensive coordinator, are not included below.) On Tuesday, we answered inquiries from prospective offensive play-callers.
Can his rookies learn quickly enough to address the unit’s biggest weakness?
Lake, who left the Rams to join new head coach Raheem Morris in Atlanta, will try to improve a team that came in at number eight in scoring and eleventh in total defense. To assist the Falcons achieve this objective, they will need to be able to produce more disruptive plays in the trenches. For this reason, Atlanta selected interior defensive linemen Ruke Orhorhoro in the second round, Brandon Dorlus in the fourth round, and Zion Logue in the sixth round with three draft picks. Edge rusher Bralen Trice was also selected by the Falcons in the third round. Atlanta can have a strong team if Lake can quickly bring this quartet up to speed.
Can he pick up where Mike Macdonald left off?
The outstanding, youthful Macdonald—who turns 37 on June 26—made the Ravens’ defense the best in the league. However, Baltimore also lost excellent defensive assistants Anthony Weaver and Dennard Wilson to coordinator positions with the Dolphins and Titans, respectively, and Macdonald is now the head coach of the Seahawks.
Orr, who was elevated from inside linebackers coach to head coach, needs to find Roquan Smith a new, potent partner after Patrick Queen left in free agency to join Pittsburgh. Thanks to draft selections made on cornerbacks Nate Wiggins (first round), T.J. Tampa (fourth round), and safety Sanoussi Kane (seventh round), Orr has a stronger secondary than what Baltimore fielded a year ago. Adisa Isaac, a third-round selection, is another talented linebacker he has. The rookie coordinator’s top aim is to provide a defense that balances Lamar Jackson’s attack and sets up the Ravens for a Super Bowl run.
Can the growing assistant, in spite of reductions, help elevate a redesigned unit?
Under head coach Sean McDermott’s direction, the Bills’ defense has regularly been among the best in the league, but a lot has changed this summer with the departures of Tre’Davious White, the cornerback, and safety Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer. The Bills selected linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio, defensive end Javon Solomon, cornerback Daequan Hardy, safety Cole Bishop in the second round, and defensive tackle DeWayne Carter in the third round with their draft picks. In order to address the major challenge at pass rusher—where the elderly Von Miller failed to record a sack last season in opposition to A.J. Epenesa (6 1/2 sacks)—Babyich will need to strive to combine these prospects. In 2024, Babich’s unit might have some growing difficulties.
Can he help deliver another Super Bowl in his return to Dallas?
Dan Quinn, who is currently head coach at Washington, is no longer with us. Zimmer, who was the defensive backs coach on the team that won Super Bowl XXX in 1995, is returning to Dallas as defensive coordinator. Since being sacked after Minnesota’s disastrous 2021 season, Zimmer has not been an NFL coach. When Zimmer makes his comeback, Mike McCarthy and quarterback Dak Prescott are under unprecedented strain because Jerry Jones is getting more and more desperate for a Super Bowl win with every offseason setback. Dallas has a great potential on defense if Zimmer can build more reliable players around his finest players—Micah Parsons, Trevon Diggs, and DaRon Bland are among the team’s top players.
In his first NFL coordinator position, can the former Boston College coach succeed?
Joe Barry, who got a respectable amount of play from an injury-plagued 2023 Packers team, is replaced by Hafley. But when a few of Green Bay’s most important defensive leaders began to falter, Matt LaFleur concluded a fresh perspective was required. Hafley has experience as an NFL position coach, but he comes to Green Bay from Boston College, where he served as head coach for four seasons. He will use his experience teaching in those positions to assist prepare young defense personnel for important tasks and, ideally, to inspire veterans. The Packers are talented enough to be in the top 10 teams. Hafley needs to determine how to effectively utilize his players’ abilities.
Will a collection of new faces translate into growth?
Under the now-fired Mike Caldwell, the Jacksonville defense had a lot of potential the previous season, but Nielsen takes over and it did not live up to expectations. This offseason, the Jaguars brass added defensive lineman Arik Armstead and defensive backs Ronald Darby and Darnell Savage to further boost the talent. All Nielsen needs to do is figure out how to put everything together. Nielsen performed admirably during his tenure as the Falcons DC last season. Should he succeed, the additional players might set up pass rusher Josh Allen (17 1/2 sacks in the previous campaign) for even more pressure.
Can he figure out how to get this talented unit to deliver on its potential?
Minter, who moved from Michigan to Los Angeles with Jim Harbaugh, takes over a team that includes three-time Pro Bowl safety Derwin James, powerful pass rushers Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack, and a few gifted young guys. However, Minter is here in part because Brandon Staley, another brilliant defensive thinker, was unable to bring this team to dominate as its potential implies it should. To help turn the defense into a game-changing unit, Minter will need to implement new, aggressive strategies.
Los Angeles Rams: Chris Shula
Can he and his players fill the big shoes left behind?
The Rams’ defensive line will be without Aaron Donald for the first time in ten years. They will also be without Raheem Morris leading the defense for the first time in three years. Both of them were essential to the Rams’ win in Super Bowl LVI, but Morris is now in Atlanta and Donald is retired. From 2017 until 2023, Shula worked with the Rams in a variety of defensive assistant roles. Now that he is in charge of his own team, he has to manage a group that includes free agent additions of defensive backs Tre’Davious White and Darious Williams, as well as rookie defensive lineman Jared Verse and returning pass rusher Kobie Turner (who finished with nine sacks last season). This season may bring some learning curves for the Rams and their inexperienced coordinator.
Miami Dolphins: Anthony Weaver
Can he give Mike McDaniel the championship-caliber defense he craves?
In his two seasons as head coach, McDaniel has produced some incredibly productive offensive performances, but it has been difficult to find a defense that can match that potent offense. Weaver, a longtime Baltimore assistant, was McDaniel’s third defensive coordinator, hired in the offseason. Vic Fangio, the team’s acquisition from the previous season, was expected to be the solution to the Dolphins’ inconsistent play under Josh Boyer. However, Fangio’s team did not perform up to pace, partly because of injuries. Additionally, McDaniel and Fangio had some philosophical disagreements, which led to his breakup with the esteemed coach after just one season.
Weaver has been a defensive line coach for five different teams but now gets his first crack at a coordinator role. The Dolphins worked to upgrade at edge rusher, linebacker and defensive back this offseason. Weaver must deliver an aggressive attack capable of slowing the Chiefs, Bills, Bengals and Ravens to give Miami a chance of making a deep playoff run.
How will he help the Patriots generate more takeaways?
The defense for New England, led by newly appointed head coach Jerod Mayo and promoted defensive line coach Covington, was one of the most underappreciated teams last season, and many key players are back. If No. 3 pick Drake Maye finally overtakes Jacoby Brissett to start as the starting quarterback, the Patriots defense must offer as much help as possible. They can achieve this, for example, by pressuring opponents into making mistakes and giving the offense advantageous field position. The Patriots finished 24th in total takeaways last season despite only recording 10 interceptions. To get better on this front, Covington and Mayo will need to guide a group of inexperienced defensive backs through rapid development.
How will he mask rampant deficiencies in the secondary?
Former Titans defensive coordinator Bowen takes over a defense that had several weak points in 2023, much like the Giants team as a whole. One of the few bright lights on the team was the young, gifted Kayvon Thibodeaux. After leading the team with 11 1/2 sacks in his rookie campaign, the fifth pick in 2022 may advance even farther with the addition of Brian Burns, another pass rusher. Bowen will have to rely largely on his edge rushers to relieve pressure on the Giants’ young, still-developing defensive backs, such as third-round cornerback Andru Phillips and second-round safety Tyler Nubin, because his team has a lot of deficiencies in the secondary.
Can he help get this retooling unit back on track?
The Eagles’ defense went from being excellent to being subpar in an instant, and last season, neither Sean Desai nor Matt Patricia were able to turn things around. Let us introduce Fangio, a highly esteemed intellect in the field. Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter are two excellent lineman on the team that Fangio takes over. Veteran linebackers Devin White and Bryce Huff as well as rookie defensive backs Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean were added in the offseason. Fangio’s job is to figure out how to combine all of this talent, grow his charges, and set them up for success.
Can he lead this talented squad to championship-level results?
In the seven seasons that Kyle Shanahan has been the 49ers’ head coach, the position of defensive coordinator has changed several times. The most recent change was the promotion of Sorensen to defensive backs coach and pass-game coordinator from Steve Wilks, whose ideologies were never totally in line with Shanahan’s. Given that Sorensen moved to San Francisco before Wilks did, he ought to be more familiar with the kind of approach that Shanahan is looking for.
The group that Sorensen takes over includes newcomers Leonard Floyd, Yetur Gross-Matos, Maliek Collins, Jordan Elliott, and De’Vondre Campbell in addition to tone-setting linebackers Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw. In February, the defense was one overtime goal-line stop away from winning the Super Bowl. Can Sorensen make the required adjustments to help the 49ers improve even more?
Seattle Seahawks: Mike Macdonald
Can the rookie head coach produce a quick turnaround in Seattle like he did in Baltimore?
It took Macdonald just two seasons to establish the Ravens defense as a dominant unit. In large part because of the Seahawks’ defense’s regression and poor performance under Pete Carroll, he is currently the head coach of Seattle. In the majority of significant statistical categories, including third downs, Seattle was among the poorest in the league. Along with defensive coordinator Aden Durde, Macdonald will need to figure out how to get his defense off the field on those money downs and strengthen the defense against the pass, which is how the opposition has been tearing up the Seahawks. As far as talent goes, the Seahawks already appear better. In the summer, they signed veteran linebackers Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker, and they selected intriguing youngsters in defensive tackle Byron Murphy II, linebacker Tyrice Knight, and cornerbacks D.J. James and Nehemiah Pritchett.
Tennessee Titans: Dennard Wilson
What will he do to generate a pass rush?
The cornerbacks Chidobe Awuzie and L’Jarius Sneed were two significant additions for the Titans to their secondary. But they were unable to find a true star to replace pass rusher Denico Autry, who led the club with 11 1/2 sacks, when he left for free agency. Therefore, unless Wilson—a former defensive backs coach with the Ravens—can devise inventive ways to create pressure, their troubles to get to the quarterback may persist.
Can he and Dan Quinn get so many new pieces on the same page?
Quinn acquired Whitt from Dallas and stated that the defense, which has undergone some changes, will be called plays by his best assistant. Quinn added defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. and linebackers Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu in free agency, but defensive lineman Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne are back. Defensive lineman Johnny Newton, nickel Mike Sainristil, linebacker Jordan Magee, safety Dominique Hampton, and defensive lineman Javontae Jean-Baptiste were among the other draft picks made by the Commanders. While Whitt will have to teach a new system to most of his charges and hope chemistry can emerge fast, Wagner is well acquainted with Quinn from their time together in Seattle, and Fowler played for him in Dallas.
(Photo illustration: Eamonn Dalton / The Athletic; photos of Jeff Hafley, DeMarcus Covington and Mike Macdonald: Bryan Bennett, Chris Unger, Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
