From Plan B to Fast Track: Coach D.K. McDonald Takes Over Eagles Secondary

The long-time friend of Nick Sirianni is putting his stamp on the Philadelphia Eagles' defensive backfield.

PHILADELPHIA – D.K. McDonald wasn’t even supposed to be a part of Nick Sirianni’s original coaching staff.

In a footnote to the 2021 Philadelphia Eagles season, the man originally tabbed to assist defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson in the secondary room was Jay Valai, who was plucked from the college ranks.

Valai, a former defensive back himself during his playing days at Wisconsin, had a bit of a whirlwind after finishing the 2020 campaign as the cornerbacks coach at Texas.

The Longhorns, however, fired head coach Tom Herman which meant his staff had the update the CVs with Valai landing on his feet about 165 miles southwest at Houston as the cornerbacks coach.

A scant 11 days after the Cougars brought Valai in the Eagles came calling with the offer of getting back into the NFL (Valai was once a quality control coach in Kansas City) to help with the cornerbacks on Sirianni’s inaugural staff.

From there it only took 12 days before Nick Saban and Alabama popped up on the phone with a better offer and Philadelphia wished Valai well before turning toward McDonald, someone Sirianni knew wasn’t going to be looking for the first exit sign in a nomadic profession.

The Eagles' head coach and McDonald not only coached together at Indiana (Pa.), they lived together and became such good friends that they attended each other’s weddings.

“We’ve known each other for quite a few years,” McDonald said when discussing Sirianni. “It’s been fun to see him grow as a leader. He’s always had leadership qualities that a lot of people always admired. People have always been drawn to coach Sirianni, and that’s the good thing about him.

“But a lot of things haven’t changed for him. He’s always connected and loved the guys he’s worked for and with, and that shows by how hard our guys play. He loves the game of football. That hasn’t changed. The way he has a great football IQ, the way he continues to communicate with the guys, those types of things will never change with him.”

Fast forward three seasons and Wilson exited to Baltimore after being passed over for a promotion to defensive coordinator in favor of Sean Desai, and McDonald is now leading the defensive backfield room and being assisted by Ronell Williams and Taver Johnson.

Valai, meanwhile, lasted one season with the Crimson Tide before shifting to Oklahoma, where he is the co-defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach, finally leaving the change of address forms alone for multiple years.

McDonald inherits a room in Philadelphia with proven cornerbacks (Darius Slay, James Bradberry, and Avonte Maddox) and a safety position in flux, after losing both 2022 starters – Marcus Epps and C.J. Gardner-Johnson – in free agency.

“It’s been a smooth transition,” McDonald told SI.com’s Eagles Today last week. “I was here the last two years just working with the guys, so that’s really helped a lot with the transition. … the big thing around here is connecting with guys and that’s what I’ve been doing the last two years. Just continuing that on, just switching seats a little bit.”

Former defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon described Wilson as his right-hand man and the pecking order under Desai is yet to be determined but there is an added layer in the form of senior defensive assistant Matt Patricia, the former head coach in Detroit and the long-time consigliere of Bill Belichick.

McDonald, though, has a direct line to the head coach and has already shown authority by moving third-year pro Zech McPhearson inside to slot cornerback as the potential backup to Maddox.

Added talent on the outside like free-agent pickup Greedy Williams and talented rookie Kelee Ringo will have the luxury of learning behind two proven veterans in Slay and Bradberry.

The real trick for McDonald is finding the best duo at safety with second-year man Reed Blankenship and free-agent pickup Terrell Edmunds getting the first crack at OTAs. Rookie third-round pick Sydney Brown is expected to compete this summer, however.

“Change is just a part of life and it’s a part of the game and it’s a great opportunity for a lot of these guys like Reed, Terrell, some of the guys we drafted like Sydney, K’Von [Wallace] who’s been in the program for a while now,” McDonald said. “It’s an opportunity for them to step up and do what they need to do in this organization and that’s a fun thing.”

McDonald and Sirianni likely already figured out what the finished product looks like back at IUP.

“The biggest thing is those guys go out and play with great effort,” McDonald said. “I think that’s really important. Great effort mentally and great effort physically, too. … The next thing is execution. We know our job then we do our job. … I think the third thing would be just teamwork.

“Like coach Sirianni talks about, connection is big here, so our guys working together. Doing 11 as 1. Then you can feel these guys play hard and play physical and are a violent team is what we’re looking for.”

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-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen