Eagles' coordinators become head coaches
The NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles lost both their offensive and defensive coordinators to NFL head coaching positions Tuesday.
The Indianapolis Colts hired Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen as their next head coach while the Arizona Cardinals hired Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon to be their new coach.
Each of Indy's last two full-time hires were offensive coordinators for Philadelphia Eagles teams that made the Super Bowl. Frank
Reich was hired in
2018 after the Eagles won their first championship since 1960 but was fired in October as the Colts' season started to unravel.
He was replaced by interim coach Jeff Saturday, who won his first game but lost the final seven to give Indy the No. 4 overall draft pick. Saturday was one of the finalists for the full-time gig.
Under the 37-year-old Steichen's tenure in Philadelphia, Jalen Hurts went from second-round draft pick in 2020 to solid starter in 2021 to NFL MVP runner-up in 2022.
But Hurts isn't Steichen's only prized pupil.
In 2020, as offensive coordinator of the Chargers, Steichen presided over Justin Herbert's NFL offensive rookie of the year campaign.
Gannon replaces Kliff Kingsbury, who was fired last month after going 4-13 in his fourth season. Gannon becomes Arizona's fourth coach in seven years.
The 40-year-old Gannon has been Philadelphia's defensive coordinator the past two seasons, helping rebuild a defense that helped the Eagles reach the Super Bowl last Sunday.
The Eagles had the NFL's No. 2 defense and the third-most sacks in NFL history with 78 (counting the postseason) under Gannon in 2022. Philadelphia led the NFL with 70 regular-season sacks — 15 more than any other team.
Ravens hire Georgia's Monken as new OC
The Baltimore Ravens have hired Georgia's Todd Monken to be their offensive coordinator, they announced Tuesday.
Monken arrives after three seasons in the same role at Georgia, which last month won its second consecutive national championship. Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said the team conducted 21 interviews with 14 candidates.
“Todd's leadership and coaching acumen were evident from the beginning,” Harbaugh said. “He has a proven track record for designing and teaching offensive systems that allow players to succeed at the highest level. We're excited to get to work and begin building an offense that will help us compete for championships.”
The 57-year-old Monken does have NFL experience as well, serving as the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns in 2019 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for three seasons before that. He was the head coach at Southern Mississippi from 2013-15.
Panthers add former Colts, Lions coach Caldwell
The Carolina Panthers added even more experience to new coach Frank Reich's staff on Tuesday, hiring Jim Caldwell as a senior assistant.
The 68-year-old Caldwell brings a wealth of NFL experience, having coached the Detroit Lions and Indianapolis Colts. His hire comes just days after the Panthers added 72-year-old Dom Capers, a former head coach with Carolina and the Houston Texans, to their staff as a defensive assistant.
Caldwell will report directly to Reich and will help the team on offense, defense and special teams.