Report: Dave Huxtable Expected to Join Ryan Nielsen on Jaguars Defensive Staff

A long-time peer of Ryan Nielsen's is expected to follow him to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have their new defensive coordinator in Ryan Nielsen. Now, they will have to fill out the rest of their defensive staff.

One such place on the staff could go to long-time defensive assistant Dave Huxtable, who has extensive ties with Nielsen. According to 1010xl's Rick Ballou, Huxtable is expected to join Nielsen in Jacksonville. 

I’m told Dave Huxtable will be joining the Jaguars staff. He was a Senior defensive assistant in Atlanta.

— Rick Ballou (@Ballou1010xl) January 23, 2024

Huxtable was a senior defensive assistant with the Atlanta Falcons in 2023, the same role that former assistant Bob Sutton held in Jacksonville over the last two seasons. 

Before then, Huxtable was a defensive assistant and coordinator in the college ranks from 1982-2022, including serving as an analyst for the Crimson Tide from 2021-2022.

Huxtable and Nielsen crossed paths first in 2013 at NC State, when Huxtable was NC State's defensive coordinator and Nielsen was defensive line coach and eventually run game coordinator.

Under Nielsen, the Jaguars still have to hire positional coaches in the secondary, at inside linebacker, and along the defensive line. Only three coaches from Doug Pederson and Mike Caldwell's 2023 defensive staff remain, including outside linebackers coach Bill Shuey, assistant defensive line coach Rory Segrest, and quality control coach Patrick Reily. 

"We're excited to welcome Ryan and have him lead our defense moving forward," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said on Monday.

"Ryan is an outstanding football coach and his defenses with the Falcons and Saints were always fundamentally sound in both their physicality and concepts. He has the rare ability to both teach and connect with his players. He builds lasting, two-way relationships predicated on trust. He establishes accountability, first from himself, then the players. What I've most admired about Ryan's defenses -- and we saw this in London back in October -- was their shared intensity and enthusiasm to get the job done and impact the game."