After becoming the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Liam Coen has quickly moved to assemble his staff. First, he retained Heath Farwell as the special teams coach. Now, he's hired a defensive coordinator after interviewing several intriguing candidates.
Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports reported that the Jags hired Anthony Campanile as their defensive coordinator late Thursday, January 30. Other outlets quickly confirmed the news, and the team later announced the move.
Breaking: The #Jaguars are hiring #Packers LBs coach/running game coordinator Anthony Campanile as their new DC, per sources.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) January 31, 2025
Campanile was a decorated high school coach before working his way up the college ranks and eventually to the NFL. An important hire for Liam Coen in… pic.twitter.com/xb8rfQvjYc
Following the news that the Jags had kept Farwell, John Shipley of Sports Illustrated reported that defensive coordinator Ryan Neilsen, along with offensive coordinator Press Taylor and offensive line coach Phil Rauscher, weren't expected to return in 2025.
To replace Nielsen, Jacksonville met with Campanile, Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator Aubrey Pleasant, and Minnesota Vikings defensive backs coach Daronte Jones for their defensive coordinator position.
Graham withdrew from consideration when he returned to Las Vegas, and Coen settled on Campanile. It's easy to see why. Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley had high praise for him late in the 2024 season.
"I have a huge amount of respect for him as a coach, his knowledge, how hard he coaches, his intensity, but more importantly as a person," Hafley said via Sports Illustrated.
With Campanile overseeing the run defense and the linebacker corps, Green Bay ranked seventh in yards allowed (99.35 per game), third in yards per tote (4.0 yards), and sixth in points allowed (19.9) last season.
So what kind of approach does Campanile have to coaching? He believes in consistent improvement and fundamentals.
"I definitely think there's always things you can do better, but I think these guys are totally bought into what we're teaching." Campanile told the press corps in the regular season finale. "I firmly believe that there's a progression each play - your eyes, your feet, your hands - and then there's go to be a violent finish. That's how every football play should start and end.
How did Anthony Campanile ended up with the Jaguars?
Anthony Campanile began coaching at the high school level in 2006 and made the leap to the collegiate ranks in 2012. After spending time at Rutgers, Boston College, and Michigan, he joined the Miami Dolphins as their linebackers coach in 2020.
Campanile spent four seasons with the Pins. It's worth noting that head coach Mike McDaniel retained him when he took over as the head coach in 2022. That goes on to show that he's pretty good at what he does.
In fact, the New York Giants interviewed Campanile for their defensive coordinator opening in 2024 but head coach Matt LaFleur convinced him to go to the Green Bay Packers. One year later, he joined the Jaguars.
We have hired Anthony Campanile as our Defensive Coordinator. pic.twitter.com/aBmhBlZR2a
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) January 31, 2025
What should Jaguars fans expect from Anthony Campanile?
As noted earlier, Anthony Campanile puts an emphasis on technique. Here's the rest of his exchange with local reporters in the season finale.
"If your eyes are right, your feet will be right, you’ll get there and your hands will buy you time. That’s some of the fundamental things about defending the run, those are essential. Your body position, where your feet are, not compromising your base, playing with great hands and technique, pad level. Some people talk about those things, but you’ve got to drill those things every day, almost like to the point where it’s a martial art."
Having said that, the former Green Bay Packers head coach is far from a technichian. He brings lots of intensity to the position as you can see below.
Liam said he wants savages, here’s your DC then!! I need this maniac leading my defense. #Duuuval pic.twitter.com/KyMQqYd6xE
— Keso (@Keso55288156) January 29, 2025
That's the kind of attitude the Jaguars defense need. When he was hired, head coach Liam Coen said he wanted to give his coordinator full autonomy to run his unit, pointing out that we wanted to bring in someone with an aggressive mindset who puts his players in a position to succeed. Campanile fits the bill.
In Jacksonville, Campanile takes over a group that ranked 27th in points allowed and 31st in total yards last year. Expected to get his unit going in 2024, defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen instead rubbed players the wrong way with his arrogant demeanor.
It will be up to Campanile to steer the ship in the right direction. Working in his favor is that he'll have ample talent to work with, including a pair of pass rushers in Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen, a lockdown cornerback in Tyson Campbell, and a well-rounded linebacker corps.
Campanile has his work cut out to turn the Jacksonville defense into a stout unit that can complement the offense, but the Jaguars wouldn't have hired him if they didn't think he could pull it off.