Eagles' DC Search Has Provided Some Clues

Jim Leonhard is out, the latest indication that the tea leaves point to Dennard Wilson vs. Sean Desai for the Eagles' DC job

The Eagles have two open coordinator spots. 

However, only one is generating news because it seems to be the worst-kept secret in the NFL that Brian Johnson will be Shane Steichen's successor as the new offensive coordinator after Philadelphia checks all the league-mandated boxes.

Johnson's long-term relationship with Jalen Hurts and his reputation as a rising young offensive mind has made that path easy for the Eagles.

The defensive side is more complicated because the top in-house candidate, secondary coach Dennard Wilson, isn't as splashy.

To date, at least when it comes to the leaked candidates, Philadelphia is certainly doing its due diligence and exploring a number of avenues whether it's a former NFL head coach like Vance Joseph, a Vic Fangio-guy in Sean Desai, a known Nick Sirianni commodity in Chris Shula, or high-profiles college coordinators like Jim Leonhard and Jesse Minter.

One NFL source not involved with the search but familiar with how the Eagles do business told SI Eagles Today it's about taking advantage of an opportunity while also being able to sell Wilson better after the Super Bowl LVII collapse by the defense.

"When you interview, it's an opportunity to hear the ideas and philosophies behind different systems or different people you might like and if one blows you away, great," the source said. "If not, you can circle back to the guy you know and are comfortable with and have the added bonus of 'we talked to all these people and decided our guy was the best choice.'"

Already, Leonhard had dropped out of the running in what was described as a mutual decision per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

The #Eagles and Jim Leonhard mutually decided they would not move forward with his DC candidacy, per league sources. Leonhard had planned to undergo hip surgery and sit out coaching for a year, but when Eagles job opened, both sides had interest in discussing the position, which…

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) February 22, 2023

Not always but usually in those types of situations, the candidate gets the feeling he's not really in the mix and wants to control the narrative.

From the outside looking in this seems like a two-horse race between Wilson and Desai for two reasons: owner Jeffrey Lurie's offer to pay former DC and now Arizona coach Jonathan Gannon a head coach's salary to stay, and Nick Sirianni's explanation that certain beliefs that are non-starters with him when it comes to the defensive side of the ball.

That points to the Eagles being comfortable with the philosophy behind what was the second-ranked defense in the NFL last season and the No. 1 passing defense.

"There are core thought processes that I have on defense," the Eagles head coach said, "... I really believe in the turnover differential, I really believe in the explosive-play differential. There are things of that nature of that (Gannon) defense that I like.

"Then there's going to be things situationally that are non-negotiables. I guess, to say with me, whether it's third-and-long, whether it's tight red zone, whether it's two-minute, end-of-game plays, whether it's four-minute defense backed up."

The larger narrative here is that Sirianni, like Sean McVay and a number of other offensive-minded coaches, believes the Fangio-style defense that Gannon ran in Philadelphia is the toughest to deal with in the modern environment, another tea leaf that the goal is to stick with the same philosophy.

"I'm naturally going to have things that I'm going to require the next defensive coordinator to do," Sirianni said. "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."

You'll get change but it will be a subtle change.

"It's all going to look a little bit different, no matter if you bring Jonathan's twin brother in, " Sirianni noted. "... 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."

Perhaps aware he was pigeonholing himself a bit, Sirianni did catch himself.

"I guess my long way of answering that is I'm not opposed to changing," he said. "I'm going to do what's best for the Eagles. ... with the defense, we're hiring the guy to do his job.

"I do have core beliefs that I don't want to change intermixed with that. But he's still got to do the job to his best ability." 

Joseph is the biggest name but the polar opposite of what Sirianni was trumpeting. Last season as the DC with the Cardinals, Joseph's defense was second in blitz percentage and third in the number of blitzes while piloting a unit that was just 21st in total defense and 24th in passing defense.

Marrying the core beliefs to one doing the job to the best of his ability screams Wilson or Desai for the Eagles.

  -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