Defense Coordinators

[805BoysInBlue]

Moving forward who should we keep an eye on as a future defensive coordinator for this team? What kind of scheme should they run based on the current roster? I doubt Eberflus makes it to 2026, so just trying to gain some knowledge from some of our much smarter Zoners.

 

[Shannon1]

REX RYAN

 

[G2]

We need a pulse on defense.

 

[exciter]

REX RYAN

Oh wow,
The blowhard that no one has sniffed at in 10 seasons.
That Rex Ryan?
Yeah, let's waste another 2 seasons piddling around with another Ryan failure!

 

[maryquality]

Any way we can poach Houston's DC as they have the #1 defense this season?

 

[stilltheguru]

Navarro bowman. Chargers lb coach. Jerry is too scared to do that though

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

y

Moving forward who should we keep an eye on as a future defensive coordinator for this team? What kind of scheme should they run based on the current roster? I doubt Eberflus makes it to 2026, so just trying to gain some knowledge from some of our much smarter Zoners.

yes. 100%. eberflus system is not a match for this team....

 

[wecasa]

Whoever it is it'll be a foxhole yes man.

 

[Kwyn]

Any way we can poach Houston's DC as they have the #1 defense this season?

Any time we talk about taking someone in a lateral move, you have to consider that they would likely need to be cut loose. It’s not like we have premiere talent to work with, right?

So, the guys with top defenses are likely looking for a head coaching job or are happy where theybareX. We just don’t have much to offer. I do have a list though

 

[Kwyn]

1. Jim Schwartz - DC Browns. - If they clean house and don’t promote him, he’s the best there is. Three top ten defenses are in his coaching tree
2. Brian Flores - DC Vikings - they would have to clean house and he’s suing the NFL, so he’s a million to one long shot but he’s terrific
3. Jim Leonhard - Asst HC/Defensive pass game coordinator - Broncos - if we can’t have Vance Joseph, give me one of his guys - this is my ideal choice if I can’t luck out with Schwartz
4. Rob Leonard - D-Line coach/run game coordinator - Raiders - Vegas players love him. Worked under Flores.
5. Christian Parker - DBacks/passing game coordinator - Eagles - very young, “phenom” type talent. Risky, but he’s been under Fangio
6. Dave Merritt - DBacks - Chiefs - five time champion on Soagnuolo’s staff. In his 50s but great at developing secondary talent
7. Al Harris - I only put him here cause you’ll see his name a million times. I wouldn’t hire him. Our defense wasn’t good last year with him and in my opinion, Chicago’s success, including their DBs, is due to Dennis Allen

 

[Kwyn]

OP also asked for thoughts on scheme. This is a previous post, so teams may have mixed up or down a spot or two, but to basic idea remains true.

Lots of talk about man vs zone, and it’s a fair enough topic to discuss. We needed more man coverage than we had early, this is true.

I personally think that maybe Eberflus base defensive schemes just aren’t very good and to make it worse, our talent is below average, at best.

All teams run more zone than man, significantly more.

• It seems that somewhere around 25% man coverage is average.
• Only a couple of teams run man at around 40%

We, as fans, saw our defense suck so bad that we all clamored to switch to man coverage, but honestly, that’s just because we knew Eberflus ran zone and we knew our defense sucked. Seemed logical to change something basic.

What does the league do?

• Guys like Dennis Allen, Kelvin Shepherd, and Jim Schwartz are up toward that 40% man coverage mark.
  • They run a lot of cover-1 which is man coverage with a safety deep. They have a good scheme and good players.
• The Browns (Schwartz) lead the league in passing defense using a ton of man
• The Bills are second and Bobby Babich runs lots of zone. They plan man at around 20% or so.
• The Texans, whose defense dominated the Bills recently, is the overall best in the league and their DC, Matt Burke, runs a really high percentage of zone. The thing is, their pass rush was ferocious.
  • They got 8 sacks and forced three turnovers.
  • They are third in the league in sacks, although no one is close to Denver, which runs a cover-2 zone variation.

The real bottom line is that you can have a good defense either way.

So, what do you need to have a good pass defense?

• More than anything you need great talent
  • You need DBs who can play zone and play it well. Thats what they’ll be doing most of the time.
  • If you want to use a lot of man, you need DBs who are good at both.
  • You need a scheme and players to generate terrific pressure on the QB (duh)
• You need a coach who is great at game planning and teaching his scheme, whatever that may be. “Man” is not a complete defensive philosophy.

 

[Johannes44]

1. Jim Schwartz - DC Browns. - If they clean house and don’t promote him, he’s the best there is. Three top ten defenses are in his coaching tree
2. Brian Flores - DC Vikings - they would have to clean house and he’s suing the NFL, so he’s a million to one long shot but he’s terrific
3. Jim Leonhard - Asst HC/Defensive pass game coordinator - Broncos - if we can’t have Vance Joseph, give me one of his guys - this is my ideal choice if I can’t luck out with Schwartz
4. Rob Leonard - D-Line coach/run game coordinator - Raiders - Vegas players love him. Worked under Flores.
5. Christian Parker - DBacks/passing game coordinator - Eagles - very young, “phenom” type talent. Risky, but he’s been under Fangio
6. Dave Merritt - DBacks - Chiefs - five time champion on Soagnuolo’s staff. In his 50s but great at developing secondary talent
7. Al Harris - I only put him here cause you’ll see his name a million times. I wouldn’t hire him. Our defense wasn’t good last year with him and in my opinion, Chicago’s success, including their DBs, is due to Dennis Allen

Any of of those guys would be an improvement. But Jerry is going to bring Eberflus back.

 

[GINeric]

Moving forward who should we keep an eye on as a future defensive coordinator for this team? What kind of scheme should they run based on the current roster? I doubt Eberflus makes it to 2026, so just trying to gain some knowledge from some of our much smarter Zoners.

I would love to have the Broncos or Vikings defensive coordinator.

 

[BotchedLobotomy]

The first check box is always going to be:

Do you have a prior connection to the Cowboys?

 

[ghst187]

1. Jim Schwartz - DC Browns. - If they clean house and don’t promote him, he’s the best there is. Three top ten defenses are in his coaching tree
2. Brian Flores - DC Vikings - they would have to clean house and he’s suing the NFL, so he’s a million to one long shot but he’s terrific
3. Jim Leonhard - Asst HC/Defensive pass game coordinator - Broncos - if we can’t have Vance Joseph, give me one of his guys - this is my ideal choice if I can’t luck out with Schwartz
4. Rob Leonard - D-Line coach/run game coordinator - Raiders - Vegas players love him. Worked under Flores.
5. Christian Parker - DBacks/passing game coordinator - Eagles - very young, “phenom” type talent. Risky, but he’s been under Fangio
6. Dave Merritt - DBacks - Chiefs - five time champion on Soagnuolo’s staff. In his 50s but great at developing secondary talent
7. Al Harris - I only put him here cause you’ll see his name a million times. I wouldn’t hire him. Our defense wasn’t good last year with him and in my opinion, Chicago’s success, including their DBs, is due to Dennis Allen

I love this list except I don’t think Harris is ready for DC, just MO

 

[DripTooHard]

The first check box is always going to be:

Do you have a prior connection to the Cowboys?

The Cowboys brass must know how you smell and you must smell the place before they hire you. Main criteria bar none!

 

[Kwyn]

I love this list except I don’t think Harris is ready for DC, just MO

Yeah, I’m not interested either but people have been asking for him forever so I stuck him on there with reasons why not

 

[Rayman70]

Wink Martindale? Michigan is going thru pure hell, turnover. I'd call him. He's a good DC if he's got players buying in.

 

[Fastpitch Dad]

Yeah, I’m not interested either but people have been asking for him forever so I stuck him on there with reasons why not

Two great posts in this thread, well done.

 

[tomokawan]

1. Jim Schwartz - DC Browns. - If they clean house and don’t promote him, he’s the best there is. Three top ten defenses are in his coaching tree
2. Brian Flores - DC Vikings - they would have to clean house and he’s suing the NFL, so he’s a million to one long shot but he’s terrific
3. Jim Leonhard - Asst HC/Defensive pass game coordinator - Broncos - if we can’t have Vance Joseph, give me one of his guys - this is my ideal choice if I can’t luck out with Schwartz
4. Rob Leonard - D-Line coach/run game coordinator - Raiders - Vegas players love him. Worked under Flores.
5. Christian Parker - DBacks/passing game coordinator - Eagles - very young, “phenom” type talent. Risky, but he’s been under Fangio
6. Dave Merritt - DBacks - Chiefs - five time champion on Soagnuolo’s staff. In his 50s but great at developing secondary talent
7. Al Harris - I only put him here cause you’ll see his name a million times. I wouldn’t hire him. Our defense wasn’t good last year with him and in my opinion, Chicago’s success, including their DBs, is due to Dennis Allen

The Raiders???LOL