Eagles interested in interviewing Vance Joseph for DC job; report
In the wake of their Super Bowl loss, the Eagles are working to fill both coordinator spots after Shane Steichen and Jonathan Gannon got head coaching gigs.
While the Eagles will presumably fill that offensive coordinator job by promoting QBs coach Brian Johnson, they might look outside the building to replace Gannon at the DC spot.
And now we have our first external name to pop up: Vance Joseph.
The Eagles have interest in speaking with Joseph and are expected to make an interview request, CBS Sports Josina Anderson reported.
Joseph, 50, has been the Cardinals defensive coordinator since 2019 after a two-year stint as the Broncos head coach. The Broncos are interested in Joseph again too. They have reportedly requested to interview Joseph for their vacant DC job, which might end up going to Rex Ryan.
Gannon is the new head coach in Arizona, so while Joseph is still under contract in Arizona, theres a good chance he wont be retained. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury was fired after the season. That means Joseph could be on the move and this could end up being a trade of sorts if he ends up in Philly.
Before becoming the Broncos head coach from 2017-18, Joseph was the Dolphins DC for a year in 2016 and previously served as defensive backs coach for the Bengals, Texans and 49ers. He began his coaching career at Colorado as a graduate assistant in 1999.
If the Eagles were to hire Joseph, it would likely be a major departure from the defense they used under Gannon. This would be a way more aggressive defense, likely with a lot of man coverage and blitzes.
In 2022, the Cardinals were second in the NFL behind the Giants in blitz rate at 34.5%. The Eagles were 18th in the NFL at 22.1%. Of course, the Eagles didnt lack for pressure this season, sacking the quarterback an incredible 70 times in the regular season.
The Eagles this season had the No. 2 defense in the NFL under Gannon in 2022 but struggled mightily, especially in the second half, against the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII. They also have several key pending free agents on that side of the ball.
Heres where Josephs defenses have ranked in yards-per-game since he became a DC in the NFL:
2016 (Dolphins): 29th
2017 (Broncos): 3rd
2018 (Broncos): 22nd
2019 (Cardinals): 32nd
2020 (Cardinals): 13th
2021 (Cardinals): 11th
2022 (Cardinals): 21st
If the Eagles decide to promote from within, the top internal candidate would likely be defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson, who has been with the team the last two years and has a varied background during his time in the NFL.
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