With six NFL franchises already announcing defensive coordinator hires for the 2024 season, some green bay packers fans are starting to get a little bit of anxiety over the team’s defensive coordinator search.
When you look at the defensive coordinator market and who the packers are targeting, it’s clear that green bay isn’t “missing out” on candidates just because their search takes a little bit longer than others. as of january 31st, five teams are reportedly still seeking defensive coordinator candidates: the packers, los angeles, miami dolphins, and tennessee titans.
That doesn’t include the baltimore ravens, los angeles chargers, and seattle seahawks, who should all be in the market after the recent turn in the coaching carousel, but you get the picture. These teams are entering the defensive coordinator market much later than the packers, so the length of green bay’s search is a non-factor. Only one of the six defensive coordinators to be hired this offseason, buffalo bills’ bobby babich, was a potential candidate for the packers’ first job. Babich was an internal candidate for the bills then, so he may have waited out for buffalo’s offer even if the job was offered by green bay.
So who is still on the packers’ list of candidates and which other teams are interested in those coaches? I’m glad you asked. zach orr (inside linebackers coach, baltimore ravens) and christian parker (defensive backs coach, denver broncos) have only had talks with the packers, two of whom are currently recruiting for a defensive coordinator. Parker was drafted by the new england patriots earlier this month, but it was left to internal candidate demarcus covington. Brandon staley (ex los angeles chargers head coach), aden durde (defensive line, dallas cowboys), and dennard wilson (defensive backs, baltimore ravens) have all been vetted by the packers. Just look at the similarities in rams head coach sean mcvay’s and packers head coach matt lafleur’s headhunts to see how strong the connection is.
Beyond the rams, staley has worked with the miami dolphins and wilson has worked with the new york giants and tennessee titans. Durde also spoke with the falcons before atlanta hired jimmy lake as their defensive coordinator earlier this week.is it possible for the packers to lose out on potential defensive coordinator candidates by not giving out a quick offer rather than doing a long hunt? You could argue that babich, a first-time defensive coordinator himself, was right, but that all the rest of the team is still on the field.
There is no reason to be concerned unless you see a flurry of defensive coordinator hires from teams like the rams, ravens, and seahawks plucking off candidates that the packers have already considered.
