Anthony

Campanile

Campanile was the only one of the two that was still up for a head-coaching gig after the Bills picking Joe Brady sealed off Udinski’s final interview opportunity. Campanile will apparently say no to the Cardinals and move ahead with the Jaguars for another season. Jacksonville’s first-place schedule and sudden improvements will make them a target for regression, but keeping coaching staff continuity should help ward some of it off.

Campanile, after coaching one of the league’s best defenses in 2025, seems to be the favorite for the Arizona head coaching job after the team parted ways with Jonathan Gannon. Campanile has interviewed with a numbers of teams, including the Ravens and Dolphins. Jacksonville in 2025 ranked second in takeaways and allowed the NFL’s third lowest rushing success rate and the 11th lowest drop back success rate.

Baltimore’s process drags on. The Ravens had a 16-coach list (that we know of), and are beginning the second interview phase shortly. Of Baltimore’s interviews, Kevin Stefanski and Robert Saleh have come off the board already. It looks like Anthony Weaver, Jesse Minter, and Joe Brady are early finalists for the position. It’s Campanile’s second head coaching interview, and with the Dolphins job now secured, his only active lead towards being a head coach.

The Ravens are on a short list of teams interested in Campanile’s services, joining the Titans and Dolphins as potential suitors. The 43-year-old excelled in his first season as an NFL defensive coordinator in 2025, as his Jaguars finished eighth in points allowed and 11th in yards allowed while also boasting a top-10 run and pass defense on a per attempt basis. Should the Ravens move to hire him, Campanile would take over a defense that is already loaded with talent, but underperformed under second-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr.

Surprisingly the Dolphins are the only team so far to interview or request an interview with the Jaguars defensive coordinator who oversaw a breakout season where the Jags finished sixth in defensive DVOA. Campanile might be a name to file away for next year, much like Jesse Minter was in 2025 after his initial breakout success as Chargers defensive coordinator.

Campanile, who spent three seasons as Miami’s linebackers coach under Brian Flores and Mike McDaniel, is fresh off coaching the Jaguars defense to an astounding 2025 season. Jacksonville ranked second in takeaways and allowed the NFL’s third lowest rushing success rate and the 11th lowest drop back success rate. In Miami, Campanile would take over a defense in need of a rebuild and an uncertain quarterback situation.

Per Wolfe, Campanile has become a player favorite with the Jaguars, and LB Devin Lloyd credits Campanile with his development. Campanile has had quite the year. The Jaguars hired him as their defensive coordinator roughly 11 months ago. In early October, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler put Campanile on his shortlist of “young defensive coaches” who could be head coaching candidates.

Fowler previously named Chargers DC Jesse Minter and Packers DC Jeff Hafley and head coaching candidates in 2026. His list includes two new additions. Campanile is just five games into his tenure and is coming off an impressive showing against the Chiefs on Monday Night Football. Fowler notes that although the Jaguars “gave up yards against the Chiefs,” the defense “was highly disruptive and confused Patrick Mahomes in the biggest moment of the game,” a 99-yard pick-six from LB Devin Lloyd. We expect Campanile to remain in Jacksonville for 2026 at the very least, but the young defensive coordinator deserves credit for turning around a unit that was among the league’s worst in 2024.

Campanile’s first crack as an NFL defensive coordinator will come with the new-look Jaguars. The long-time linebackers coach joins Liam Coen’s staff after being passed on by the 49ers in favor of Robert Saleh and will now be tasked with taking over a defense that ranked in the bottom 10 in points allowed, yards allowed, EPA per play, and success rate allowed. He’ll have his work cut out for him, but with young talents like Devin Lloyd, Travon Walker, and Josh Hines-Allen already in place, he should have plenty to work with out of the gate.

Jacksonville’s hit the ground hard on the defensive coordinator spot since completing the Liam Coen hire. Campanile was co-defensive coordinator at Boston College in 2018 but otherwise has no non-high school defensive coordinator experience. Miami’s linebackers coach from 2020-2023 moved to Green Bay in 2024 and picked up a “running game coordinator” title along the way. He was interviewed by the Dolphins and Giants for their defensive coordinator positions last offseason.