Report: Eagles to interview Ron Rivera and Mike Caldwell for defensive coordinator

The Eagles plan to interview Ron Rivera and Mike Caldwell for their vacant defensive coordinator position, according to an ESPN report.

After firing defensive coordinator Sean Desai and letting senior defensive assistant Matt Patricia’s contract run out, the team is set for a significant overhaul to the defense this offseason. The Athletic reported that former Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale and former Atlanta Falcons coach Ryan Nielsen were also contacted by the Eagles for an interview, but Nielsen was hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday, according to ESPN.

» READ MORE: Eagles fire defensive coordinator Sean Desai

Rivera, a former linebacker who played nine seasons with the Chicago Bears, spent five years early in his career as the Eagles’ linebackers coach on Andy Reid’s staff. Rivera still has ties in the Eagles organization, most notably with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and his family.

“He’s a family member of ours,” Lurie said in 2020. “[Rivera’s wife, Stephanie] and my wife play golf together, and Ron is somebody I really respect. … He’s a high-quality person in every sense of the word.”

Rivera spent the last 13 seasons as a head coach, first with the Carolina Panthers and more recently with the Washington Commanders. The 62-year-old went 76-63-1 with the Panthers and 26-40-1 with the Commanders before getting fired earlier this month.

Rivera was last a defensive coordinator with the San Diego Chargers from 2008-10. His Chargers defenses ranked in the top five in points allowed in each of his three seasons running the unit. During his tenure as a head coach, his defenses have ranked in the top 10 in scoring four times.

Rivera has showcased some schematic flexibility based on the personnel he has had over the course of his career. It’s difficult to pin down his schematic preferences because of his long stretch as a head coach, but Rivera has a history of preferring aggressive four-man fronts and zone coverage, particularly quarters coverage with two deep safeties.

If the organization is searching for someone with both head-coaching experience and a history of leading elite defenses, Rivera would fit the bill.

Caldwell is another former NFL linebacker who spent part of his 11-year career with the Eagles from 1998 to 2001. He’s coming off two years as defensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars but was fired earlier this month. This season, Jacksonville’s defense ranked 10th in defense-adjusted value over average, which measures efficiency with quality of opponent factored in. The Jags ranked 23rd in DVOA in Caldwell’s first year and have been middle of the road in yards allowed in each of the last two seasons.

Before his time with the Jaguars, Caldwell was an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Todd Bowles’ staff and was with Bowles with the New York Jets before that. He was also part of the 2021 Buccaneers team that stymied the Eagles offense in the wild-card round of the 2021 season.

Similar to Bowles, Caldwell has a track record of running an aggressive defense that flips between man coverage and zone and blitzes above the league-average. The Jaguars ranked ninth in blitz rate last season and finished fourth in pressure rate.