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The Philadephia Eagles’ search for a new defensive coordinator has cast a pretty wide net throughout the professional and college ranks. They remain on the hunt after conducting some intense Zoom interviews this week, including a marathon session with Vance Joseph.
The two sides talked for 4.5 hours in an initial call on February 21, then chatted again on February 22. Well, scratch Joseph off the list. He has decided to accept the open defensive coordinator gig in Denver as the former Broncos head coach returns home. Joseph is the second candidate to take his name out of the running following a mutual parting of ways between the Eagles and Jim Leonhard.
Can confirm Vance Joseph is set to return to Denver as the Broncos’ new defensive coordinator under Sean Payton.
So, who is left? Well, if reports are accurate, that leaves a dwindling array of candidates that includes Sean Desai, Jesse Minter, Chris Shula, Dennard Wilson, Glenn Schumann, and maybe Tracy Rocker.
Then there is the curious case of former Eagles linebacker Seth Joyner who recently threw his hat into the ring. The three-time Pro Bowler told Dan Sileo of JAKIB Sports that he would do it in a “heartbeat.” One problem, no one has approached him or asked him to do the job. And he has zero coaching experience.
Joyner’s interview was going viral on February 23 after another video (via David of Philly Cover Corner) surfaced of him from 2021 where he commented on if the Eagles had ever reached out to him about coaching. They didn’t. But the one-time Super Bowl champion did reveal he had reached out to general manager Howie Roseman to gauge interest. They never called him back.
“No. The Eagles have never reached out to me regarding coaching,” Joyner told David. “Back in the day I reached out to Howie Roseman, didn’t really hear back from him, so I let it be.”
Last year I asked @sethjoyner about his interest in coaching in the @nfl and if the @Eagles have shown interest in him.
Nick Sirianni Not Looking for Jonathan Gannon Clone
Jonathan Gannon is gone. He is the new coach for the Arizona Cardinals in a move that was met with some cheers from the Philly faithful. Gannon was often maligned for not changing up his schemes and refusing to blitz. The Eagles finished with the No. 3 overall defense in the NFL and advanced to the Super Bowl in 2022, but the general feeling — outside the NovaCare Complex — was it wasn’t good enough.
Nick Sirianni was very passionate and defensive when discussing Jonathan Gannon.
“I can’t wait to talk to Angelo Cataldi on Monday.”
Head coach Nick Sirianni was a fierce Gannon supporter, calling out a local radio station for blasting him after a playoff game. He didn’t want his right-hand guy to leave town. However, Sirianni doesn’t sound intent on bringing in someone who runs the same system. A change could be good.
“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,” Sirianni told reporters on February 16. “Again, it’s all going to look a little bit different, no matter if you bring Jonathan’s twin brother in, which he doesn’t have — if you brought him in, it’s still going to look a little different when that guy calls it as opposed to Coach Gannon. So, there’s going to be little changes, little differences.”
Still No Franchise Tag on C.J. Gardner-Johnson
The Eagles are expected to slap the franchise tag on safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson if they cannot work out a long-term deal. The first day that franchise tags could be applied was February 21 and it came and went without an official designation for Gardner-Johnson. It stands to reason the Eagles are hard at work trying to negotiate an extension for him. If not, the team has until March 7 at 4 p.m. to slap the franchise tag on him.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson is ‘not going anywhere’ and the #Eagles will franchise tag him if they can’t get a deal done, via @InsideBirds.
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Ex-Eagles Star Lobbying for D-Coordinator Job After Reaching Out to GM