• Steve Spagnuolo enters 2024 as the NFL's top DC: The unit is generally not at its best early in the season, but you can always count on the Chiefs' defense under Spagnuolo to deliver when it matters the most.
• Vic Fangio and Jim Schwartz round out the top three: Fangio is in his first year as the Eagles' defensive coordinator, while Schwartz enters year two in Cleveland.
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Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes
Following our ranking of the top 10 offensive coordinators in the NFL ahead of the 2024 season, we are turning our attention to the best defensive coordinators in the league.
We will be using the same criteria as on the offensive side of the ball. Thus, this list will include only defensive coordinators who are calling plays. Similar to the offense, this narrows down the possible candidates significantly but here are the top 10 defensive coordinators entering the 2024 NFL campaign.
1. Steve Spagnuolo, Kansas City Chiefs
Although Spagnuolo has won three Super Bowls over the past five seasons, he established himself as one of the best defensive coordinators in the league long before that by keeping the 2007-08 New England Patriots, one of the best offenses in NFL history, to 14 points in Super Bowl 42.
Nevertheless, Spagnuolo's work with the Chiefs over the past half-decade has made him arguably one of the best defensive coordinators in NFL history. While Kansas City has one of the best quarterbacks ever in Patrick Mahomes, the aggressive Chiefs defense — featuring more cornerback blitzes than almost any other team — nicely complements the offense. The unit is generally not at its best early in the season, but you can always count on the Chiefs' defense to deliver when it matters the most.
2. Vic Fangio, Philadelphia Eagles
Fangio joined the Eagles as a defensive coordinator this offseason after being a consultant in Philadelphia two years ago. Between his stops in Philadelphia, Fangio served as the defensive coordinator of the Dolphins for a year and put together a formidable defense despite key players, such as Jalen Ramsey, Jevon Holland and Jaelan Phillips, missing significant time with injuries. The Miami defense was one of 12 teams to not allow positive EPA per play to opposing offenses on pass plays.
3. Jim Schwartz, Cleveland Browns
Schwartz seems to put together elite defenses at all of his stops, as he did so in Cleveland in 2023, similar to what he had accomplished before with the Titans and the Eagles.
Despite having edge defender Myles Garrett — arguably the best defensive player in the NFL — the Browns' defense struggled in previous years. However, Schwartz unlocked the potential of the Cleveland defense in his first season with the team, relying on a strong four-man pass rush. Cleveland allowed -0.23 EPA per play to opposing offenses on pass plays, which was the best mark in the league by a significant margin.
4. Brian Flores, Minnesota Vikings
After witnessing a passive and reactive defense in previous years, Vikings fans got the complete opposite following Brian Flores' hire as defensive coordinator in 2023. The former Miami Dolphins head coach is widely regarded as one of the NFL's most aggressive defensive coaches, heavily relying on man coverages and blitzes.
And Flores did not disappoint in his first season in Minnesota, as the Vikings' defense blitzed 150 more times than the second-most aggressive defense in 2023. Although the unit finished just 17th in EPA per play allowed, this was still a step in the right direction for a mostly young and inexperienced unit that is going through a rebuild.
5. Lou Anarumo, Cincinnati Bengals
Anarumo ranked significantly higher on this list a year ago after a strong 2022 season. The 2023 campaign did not go as planned on either side of the ball for Cincinnati, and while the defense did face some injuries, such as losing D.J. Reader for the season, others underperformed, which resulted in a poor year for the unit.
Anarumo’s defense had improved in EPA per play allowed in each of his first four seasons in Cincinnati, but the group in 2023 recorded its lowest EPA per play allowed since 2020. The 0.02 EPA per play allowed in 2023 was the sixth-worst figure in the NFL.
6. Ejiro Evero, Carolina Panthers
It may be fair to say that Ejiro Evero had the most chaotic past two years of any NFL coordinator. After Evero joined the Broncos as a defensive coordinator in 2022, head coach Nathaniel Hackett was fired mid-season. The same happened to him in Carolina in 2023 with Frank Reich. However, despite dealing with that and coaching a defense that was not in the upper half of the league in terms of talent, Evero got the most out of the Panthers' group.
Evero got a breakout 2023 season out of interior defender Derrick Brown, whose 90.1 PFF overall grade ranked fourth among interior defenders. In addition, the -0.002 EPA per play allowed by the Carolina defense was the second-best mark for the franchise over the past five seasons.
7. Gus Bradley, Indianapolis Colts
While the Colts' defense went from blitzing on a league-low 15.6% of pass plays to 17.8% in 2023, that was still just the 31st-ranked rate in the league. Bradley’s defense played Cover 3 on a league-high 39.1% of snaps, while they played Cover 1 (man coverage with one deep safety) at a 7.3% clip, which was the second lowest in the NFL.
However, despite what many could call a predictable defense, Bradley’s unit was solid even without a consistent pass rush and with the most inexperienced cornerback group in the NFL.
8. Mike Zimmer, Dallas Cowboys
Zimmer returned this offseason to Dallas as a defensive coordinator after holding the same title with the Cowboys between 2000 and 2006. The last time the former Vikings head coach was a defensive coordinator at any level was more than 10 years ago — in 2013 with the Bengals. Zimmer has been out of the league since 2021, his last year with Minnesota, but during the nearly 15 years that he was a defensive coordinator before being hired by the Vikings, he was among the best in the league.
It will be intriguing to see whether he can replicate that with a very talented Dallas Cowboys defense in 2024.
9. Patrick Graham, Las Vegas Raiders
Graham, who has been a defensive coordinator for three different teams over the past five seasons, has been considered among the better defensive minds throughout his career, but he has not had much of an opportunity to work with a talented defense.
Still, it is telling that Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce retained Graham on the staff in Las Vegas after Josh McDaniels’ departure. Despite not having one of the most talented defenses in the NFL, Graham’s unit finished 17th in EPA per play allowed in 2023 (-0.03).
10. Teryl Austin, Pittsburgh Steelers
Austin enters his fifth season with the Steelers and his third as Pittsburgh’s defensive coordinator, a title that he held before with the Detroit Lions and the Cincinnati Bengals. Despite going through a rebuild, his unit was back to its old form during the 2023 season. The unit allowed -0.06 EPA per play last season, a best for the Pittsburgh defense since the 2020 campaign.
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