Eagles lose key coach after passing him up for promotion
The coach was a finalist for the defensive coordinator job.
The Eagles are reportedly losing a key assistant coach.
According to Ian Rapoport, the team and passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson have mutually agreed to part ways.
As Rapoport notes, Wilson was a finalist for the DC job that ultimately went to Sean Desai. The job became open after Jonathan Gannon took the head coaching gig for the Arizona Cardinals.
Wilson will now look for work elsewhere. The 40-year-old defensive coach came to the Eagles before the 2021 season after spending the prior four seasons with the New York Jets.
Wilson got his start in coaching with the St. Louis Rams back in 2012 as a defensive quality control coach. Wilson would stay with the Rams through the move to Los Angeles, before ultimately being hired by the Jets before the 2017 season.
With the Eagles in 2022, Wilson oversaw a secondary that led the league in opponent's passing yards per game. The Eagles were also tied for fourth in interceptions with 17 on the year.
Wilson also appears to be well-liked by his players. Darius Slay, who had an elite season in 2022 under Wilson, took to Twitter last month to proclaim that Wilson "should be a DC in the NFL."
CJ Gardner-Johnson quoted Slay's tweet and explained that Wilson elevated his play. Gardner-Johnson was traded to the Eagles right before the 2022 season.
Head coach Nick Sirianni spoke on Wilson at the combine, stating that the team would be lucky to have Wilson back in 2023.
“If he is still our defensive backs coach, we’ll be lucky to have him because we know how good of a coach he is," said Sirianni. "I think the world of Dennard and how good of a football coach he is.”
The Eagles will now need to find a new defensive backs coach before the season. New DC Sean Desai also has to find a linebackers coach for 2023.
