Blogging The Boys
The Cowboys aren’t likely to make any coaching staff changes until the regular season ends, but fans are already putting together wish lists at defensive coordinator. We previously highlighted nine coaches who would signify a meaningful upgrade, but with one more week to go until Black Monday, here are nine more names to know.
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.
Jets fiasco aside, Wilks has a strong track record in the NFL, and his scheme – which we broke down earlier this year – is an ideal fit for the Cowboys’ personnel.
Wilks built his reputation as one of the architects of the Panthers defense in the Ron Rivera years, coaching up a secondary that routinely overachieved. He later became the Panthers interim head coach following Matt Rhule’s firing, and Carolina finished 6-6 under his leadership and came dangerously close to making the playoffs. When he was passed over for Frank Reich, who didn’t even last one full season as head coach, Wilks joined the 49ers to run their defense.
There, Wilks maintained San Francisco’s defensive dominance, as they finished fourth in defensive DVOA and ninth in EPA/play. Yet Wilks was fired the day after losing in the Super Bowl, with Kyle Shanahan citing a desire for someone more familiar with their players. He replaced Wilks with Nick Sorensen, who obviously didn’t work out since he’s now coaching special teams in Dallas; the 49ers dropped all the way to 18th in defensive DVOA and 26th in EPA/play without Wilks.
Wilks has been renowned for his leadership skills over the years and his scheme is built on aggression, preferring to blitz early and often and pair it with heavily disguised coverages leaning towards press techniques. In other words, he does all the things Eberflus refuses to do.
Not too long ago, Don “Wink” Martindale was the bell of the coaching ball. 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.
But the personalities of Daboll and Martindale were like oil and water. The rocky relationship came to a head when Daboll fired Martindale’s top defensive assistants without informing him first, which led to Martindale [cursing...
