#defensive-coordinator

#defensive-coordinator

His ascension to defensive coordinator with the Ravens ushered in a new era of defensive dominance for Baltimore, perfectly pairing with the explosive emergence of Lamar Jackson on offense. The gruff, aggressive mastermind eventually left for the Giants, partially due to disagreements with head coach John Harbaugh. There, he crafted a defense that routinely punched above its weight in his first year on Brian Daboll's staff, during which the Giants surprised everyone with a playoff run.

The only one on this list who's officially available, Steve Wilks began the season as the Jets defensive coordinator but was fired after a Week 14 loss to the Jaguars. Wilks' defense had not been performing well this season, but it was also the first year of a rebuild and he watched his two best players - Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner - get dealt at the deadline. It's hard to know what exactly Jets leadership expected from Wilks.

LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker is remaining with the program, coach Lane Kiffin said Friday on X. Baker, who has led LSU's defense the past two seasons, interviewed for head-coaching vacancies at Tulane and Memphis this week and was a strong candidate, sources said. But he instead will remain with Kiffin, who prioritized retaining Baker, one of the nation's highest-paid assistants at $2.5 million.

San Jose State not only had its hopes of becoming bowl eligible for a fourth straight season obliterated by a team that had not won a Mountain West Conference game since 2023, but on Monday it cost longtime defensive coordinator Derrick Odum and special teams coordinator Joe Palcic their jobs. Now the team looks to regroup Saturday night in San Diego against the Aztecs (8-2, 5-1 Mountain West), who have one of the staunchest defenses in the nation and need to win out to remain in the CFP chase.