Ex Falcons Coach Starting Strong at Jacksonville Jaguars Training Camp

One-time Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen is off to a good start in the same role with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Former Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen has found early success with the Jacksonville Jaguars. / Bob Self/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- During his one year as defensive coordinator in 2023, Ryan Nielsen helped elevate the Atlanta Falcons defense to heights it hadn't seen in years. Now, he's off to a fast start in the same role with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Nielsen, who joined the Jaguars in the time between Atlanta's firing of head coach Arthur Smith on Jan. 7 and hiring of Raheem Morris on Jan. 25, has led Jacksonville's defense to a productive, takeaway-filled beginning to training camp.

According to Jaguars on SI beat reporter John Shipley, the Nielsen-led Jaguars defense has caused trouble for quarterback Trevor Lawrence and crew.

"The Jaguars' signal-caller has fought the same uphill battle against Ryan Nielsen's defense as the rest of the offense has, but he has had issues with turnovers so far in camp," Shipley wrote Saturday. "Through four days, Lawrence has thrown five interceptions, with two coming on Saturday."

Nielsen has made a positive impression on star Jaguars pass rusher Josh Hines-Allen, who said the defensive is bought in to Nielsen. Jacksonville is trying to do things it has never done before, Allen noted, and Nielsen is instilling a detail-oriented approach from individual drills to team periods.

"He’s teaching us to play fast and play physical," Hines-Allen said. "Get your hands on somebody and strike them as hard as you can, as fast as you can, as many times as you can. If we can keep that focus with the discipline -- because the technique works -- so if we can stay disciplined through the heat, from early in the game to late to the overtimes, to November, man, we would be unstoppable."

In Atlanta, Nielsen led the Falcons to 42 sacks last season, a number that ranked No. 21 league-wide but eclipsed the team's total from the previous two years combined. Further, the Dirty Birds recorded 98 quarterback hits in 2023 after just 69 in 2022.

From creative blitz packages and pre-snap looks to identifying schematic fits in veteran sack leaders Calais Campbell and Bud Dupree, Nielsen revitalized Atlanta's pass rush.

Even with a difficult final two games that included the Falcons allowing 85 points in a pair of blowout losses, Nielsen's unit finished the year ranked No. 11 in total yards allowed per game at 321.1 yards, No. 8 in pass defense at 202.9 yards, No. 20 in run defense at 118.2 yards and No. 18 in points allowed with 21.9 points.

Nielsen, who was a defensive line coach for six years with the New Orleans Saints before arriving in Atlanta, has been hands-on with Jacksonville's front -- literally.

Hines-Allen said Nielsen has harped extensively on hand placement, teaching quick, violent, effective hands that should translate when pads come on. But Nielsen isn't just using words to get his message across.

Instead, Nielsen, who was a defensive lineman at the USC from 1997-01, has physically performed drills to show his players what he is looking for, which left Hines-Allen impressed.

"He knows what he wants," Hines-Allen said. "He knows what a good defense looks like. He's coached at a high level, he's coached a lot of individual players that have played at a high level, so he knows what it looks like. We have the talent, so now we just have to keep buying in and executing the calls."

Hines-Allen added he and Nielsen have lots of talks, trying to understand precisely how his new coordinator thinks so the message can be better translated to the rest of the defense.

And as a result of conversations like those, Nielsen said he feels players have been "really good" in their reception of him and his goals. When he's asked his defenders for things like better effort or quicker alignments, he's seen it.

Nielsen believes his new players are bought in. The Falcons' defense committed similarly to Nielsen last year, with his effort and intensity frequently generating praise within the locker room.

Part of the reason Nielsen has routinely resonated with his players is the emphasis he's placed on creating genuine relationships with them off the field, which he views as a crucial landmark in the road to success.

"Players don't care what you know until they know how much you care," Nielsen said. "Our staff, spending time with the guys, it's been really important. We have good guys. I love to be around our players -- they're really cool guys, they care so much.

"You just hope that comes across to them, that you really care about them on and off the field. That's what it's about."

Each of Nielsen's requests have been granted on tape, from rallying to the ball to getting in their stances quicker. Such coaching points never stop, but that's part of why Nielsen wants to connect with his players as much as he can.

Another reason is why the Falcons saw firsthand: There are no guarantees the relationship lasts beyond the next practice, game or season.

"One of the players said it, this team will only be one year together," Nielsen said. "Some of the staff will leave. You want it to be so good for these guys this one year. Win, play the best that you can, and so hopefully that comes across to the guys.

"You try to get that across to them that, ‘Man, I really care about you as a person, as a player, and that's why sometimes we're coaching you hard or we're putting you in adverse situations that we want you to be the best.’"

The Falcons' defense has many of the same faces it did a season ago. When the first-team defense takes the field each day at training camp, there's only one new addition -- defensive end James Smith-Williams.

But much of the coaching staff is different, as assistant head coach/defense Jerry Gray and senior defensive assistant Dave Huxtable are the lone returners. Each of the position coaches are new, and so is the scheme.

Nielsen runs a 4-3 defense, while new coordinator Jimmy Lake is transitioning to a 3-4. Nielsen's patented double-mug looks, with linebackers placed close to the line of scrimmage in a variety of gaps with hopes of causing a problem-solving game for offenses, are still a part of the playbook, but to a lesser extent.

The Falcons, who ran a heavy dose of three-safety looks over the final seven games of the season, haven't implemented any such packages thus far under Lake. They have, however, shown more five-man fronts, with the strong-side linebacker holding a more prominent role at the end of the line of scrimmage.

Yet for as much change as Atlanta's currently navigating through, Nielsen's doing the same some 350 miles south -- and thus far, he's enjoyed every second of it.

"It's been a blast to be with these guys," Nielsen said. "I'm fired up. It's been really cool. Love these guys. They're awesome, awesome guys, and love spending time with them."