Meet the Eagles’ external defensive coordinator candidates, from Sean Desai to Jim Leonhard

Following Jonathan Gannon’s departure to the Arizona Cardinals, there are big shoes to fill for the Eagles. Although Gannon’s defense might not have been pleasing to the general NFL fan, especially given the team’s performance in Super Bowl LVII, his unit was mostly effective.

Gannon’s zone-heavy scheme primarily revolved around limiting explosive plays. The Eagles also maximized the pass rush, typically receiving quality pressure looks from its base fronts, which allowed the secondary to play sticky coverage. The Eagles finished with the second-ranked defense in the NFL (301.5 total yards per game) and No. 1 pass defense (179.8 yards per game). They also recorded 70 sacks in the regular season, which led the league and ranked third in NFL history.

» READ MORE: Jonathan Gannon reflects on the Eagles’ Super Bowl loss in his Cardinals introductory press conference

Eagles linebacker coach Nick Rallis is joining Gannon in Arizona as his defensive coordinator, so the Eagles will have multiple vacancies to fill. If they choose to promote internally for defensive coordinator, defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson is deserving of a look given his experience working under several defensive coordinators and also his overall familiarity with the personnel and scheme.

Coach Nick Sirianni and general manager Howie Roseman have also cast a wide net for candidates outside the organization. Sirianni acknowledged he is open to having the next defensive coordinator adjust the overall scheme. The Eagles also are dealing with heavy roster turnover, as seven defensive starters are pending free agents.

“There are core thought processes that I have on defense,” Sirianni said last week. “I really believe in the turnover differential; I really believe in the explosive-play differential. There are things of that nature of that defense that I like. Then there’s going to be things situationally that are non-negotiables.

“I’m naturally going to have things that I’m going to require the next defensive coordinator to do. But I also know that I’m hiring somebody to do their job to the best of their abilities, and that’s why I’m hiring them ... so there’s going to be little changes, little differences. But I’m not opposed to changing [the scheme]. I’m going to do what’s best for the Eagles. With the defense, we’re hiring the guy to do his job. I do have core beliefs that I don’t want to change intermixed with that. But he’s still got to do the job to his best ability.”

» READ MORE: Nick Sirianni plans to delegate duties to the Eagles’ replacements for Jonathan Gannon and Shane Steichen

Here’s a recap of the external candidates that the Eagles have reportedly either interviewed or are scheduled to do so, as of Tuesday:

Joseph, 50, is the oldest of the bunch. He’s also the lone interviewee with head coaching experience. He went 11-21 in two seasons as Denver’s head coach. Joseph joined the Cardinals in 2019.

This past season, the Cardinals finished 21st in total defense (348.9 yards per game), including 14th in run defense and 24th in pass defense. The Cardinals finished second in blitz percentage (34.5%), according to Pro Football Reference, and third in total blitzes (225). In comparison, the Eagles blitzed 146 times, which ranked 17th in the league.

Joseph boasts a relationship with standout Eagles defensive end Haason Reddick. When the Cardinals drafted Reddick in 2017, the Temple product was used sparingly as an outside edge rusher because Arizona elected to deploy him as an inside linebacker. During his first three seasons, Reddick registered just 7½ sacks. In their exit meeting ahead of the 2020 offseason, Reddick pleaded to be used in a more effective way. Joseph obliged and moved Reddick back to his comfort zone as a traditional edge rusher; Reddick finished with 12½ sacks in 2020.

Joseph’s willingness to adapt and listen to his players is evident from Reddick’s resurgence.

Desai, 39, previously worked as defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears in 2021. During his lone season in the role, the Bears finished sixth in total defense, third in pass defense, and 23rd in run defense. Eagles defensive end Robert Quinn led the NFC that season with a career-high 18½ sacks.

From 2013-21, Desai had several coaching roles with the Bears. He worked previously under new Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, whom the Eagles temporarily hired as an assistant this season.

A native of Shelton, Conn., Desai earned his doctorate in educational administration from Temple, where he served as a defensive and special teams coach from 2006-10 in his first coaching job.

Regarding the Rooney Rule, which requires all NFL teams to interview at least one minority candidate for coaching positions, Joseph is Black and Desai is Indian.

» READ MORE: An early look at three coaching candidates to fill each of the Eagles’ vacant coordinator positions

Shula, the grandson of legendary Dolphins coach Don Shula and son of former Cincinnati Bengals coach David Shula, has worked with the Los Angeles Rams in various roles since 2017. Before that, Shula worked with Sirianni as part of the Chargers’ staff in 2015-16.

Shula, 37, has worked with a handful of accomplished defensive ends and linebackers, including Joey Bosa, Dante Fowler, Clay Matthews, and Leonard Floyd. During the Rams’ victory in Super Bowl LVI, rookie linebacker Ernest Jones tallied seven tackles, one sack, four quarterback pressures, and one pass defensed.

Shula played linebacker at Miami (Ohio), where he was a teammate of Rams coach Sean McVay.

Leonhard, 40, has no NFL coaching experience, but he played 10 seasons as an undrafted defensive back for the Bills, Jets, Ravens, Browns, and Broncos.

He started his coaching career in 2016 as defensive backs coach at his alma mater, Wisconsin. Just two seasons in, Leonhard was promoted to defensive coordinator. He was named interim head coach during the 2022 season after Paul Chryst was fired. Under Leonhard, the Badgers finished 5-3.

Leonhard previously coached Eagles linebacker T.J. Edwards, a pending free agent, at Wisconsin.

Minter, 39, inherited a defense that lost several key pieces in Aidan Hutchinson, David Ojabo, and former coordinator Mike Macdonald. Yet, the Wolverines improved across multiple statistical categories.

They finished third in college football in yards allowed per play and third in opponent scoring (13.4 points per game). Michigan also produced a 37.9% red-zone conversion rate and finished with the most passes defensed (429) across FBS.

Minter was a finalist for the 2022 Broyles Award as one of the top assistant coaches in the country. Minter previously worked in the NFL from 2017-20 as a defensive backs coach for Jim Harbaugh’s brother, John, with the Baltimore Ravens.