The Jacksonville Jaguars are starting over on defense. On Monday, the team fired defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell and just about every other defensive coach on the team’s staff.
As the team begins its hunt for a new face to lead the way, there’s plenty of reason to believe it’ll be a relatively attractive opening for coaching candidates.
For one, no pass rushing tandem finished with more sacks than the 27.5 that Josh Allen and Travon Walker combined for in 2023. While Allen, who led the way with 17.5 sacks, is scheduled to became a free agent, it’d be a surprise if the Jaguars didn’t use the franchise tag, at the very least, to keep him on the roster.
After that, it largely depends on what you think of young players like cornerback Tyson Campbell, safety Andre Cisco, and linebacker Devin Lloyd who have all shown great things at times, but have struggled with consistency early in their careers.
Here are six coaches who could draw the Jaguars’ eye as they try to fill their defensive coordinator void and turn their young defense into one of the NFL’s best units:
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Martindale, 60, is a highly respected coach who had two interviews last year for the Colts’ head coaching vacancy before the team eventually hired Shane Steichen instead. But now he’s without a job after resigning from his position with the Giants due to a rocky relationship with head coach Brian Daboll, who said earlier in the day that he expected Martindale to stay on the staff.
Prior to his two seasons with the Giants, Martindale spent four years as the defensive coordinator of the Ravens.
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The former Vikings head coach has made several stops around the NFL as a defensive coordinator, most recently spending six seasons leading a fantastic Bills defense. While he stepped away from coaching in 2023, he’s hopeful to garner interest as a head coaching candidate in 2024. If that doesn’t come to fruition, he’d presumably be a top candidate to lead the way for a defense.
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Weaver is just 43, but he’s rising through the coaching ranks quickly. He worked his way up to defensive coordinator during his five seasons with the Texans and then spent the last two years with the Ravens as defensive line coach, run game coordinator, and assistant head coach.
While he’s already getting head coaching interviews, he…
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