It's been just over a week since Christian Parker was hired to run the Cowboys defense, and the 34-year old is busy building his defensive coaching staff. The biggest name that's been connected to the Cowboys so far is Zach Orr, a 33-year old coach who just spent the past two seasons running the Ravens defense. Orr also interviewed for the defensive coordinator job in Dallas, and it seems Parker is keying in on him for an elevated role with the Cowboys.
Daronte Jones was the man chosen by the Washington Commanders to lead their defense through a critical transition. Head coach Dan Quinn is taking a significant leap of faith in another inexperienced coordinator, but that leap must be accompanied by trust. Jones will have a strategy to make short-term improvements while enabling sustainable growth. With general manager Adam Peters focusing on personnel, the coach's immediate attention turns to his staff.
But the list extends beyond those guys. In Green Bay, he also got career-best seasons out of other defensive backs Darnell Savage Jr., Adrian Amos, and Kevin King. In Denver, Justin Simmons turned in All-Pro seasons in all three years Parker was with the Broncos. And during their Super Bowl-winning season in Philadelphia, C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Reed Blankenship combined for 10 interceptions on the year.
About an hour after the Baltimore Ravens announced Jesse Minter as their new head coach on Thursday night, a high-ranking team official was told that Minter has been described as a "legitimate genius." "Honestly, that's what they said about Mike Macdonald," the high-ranking Ravens source said. "And it may just be true again." Like Macdonald, Minter got into the NFL by working his way up through the Ravens' defensive coaching ranks and spent time at the University of Michigan as its defensive coordinator.
The Browns made an out-of-left-field hire in 2023 when they brought Banda over from Utah State to coach safeties. Before joining Cleveland, Banda had no NFL experience, so there were questions about whether he would be a good fit. Banda has quickly become one of the better position coaches the Browns have. Grant Delpit has leveled up his game into an all-around safety under Banda's leadership - and really one of the more underrated safeties in the game.
