JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The idea of the Jacksonville Jaguars losing a key part of their coaching staff is, for all intents and purposes, a foreign one in Duval.
Sure, the Jaguars have had assistants move on to bigger and better things before. But not since Mike Smith in 2008 have the Jaguars had a team attempt to poach one of their coordinators in hopes of promoting him to the captain’s chair.
That has clearly changed in 2026, though, with multiple teams in pursuit of both offensive coordinator Grant Udinski and defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile. It is Campanile who seems especially close to potentially landing the Arizona Cardinal’s head coach job. And if that doomsday scenario happens, the Jaguars need to move forward with a clear strategy.
Wide Net
If the Jaguars do need to end up replacing Campanile just one year after Jaguars head coach Liam Coen hand-picked him for his staff, then the Jaguars need to clearly enter the search with a wide net and clear eyes. It will be one of the most important hires the Jaguars will see Coen make, and there is no reason it shouldn’t be an exhaustive search.
Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile walks off the field to be interviewed by media members after an NFL training camp session at the Miller Electric Center, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
While Coen and Campanile did cross paths and have a relationship before Coen hired him, the two had never worked together. Several additions to the Jaguars’ first coaching staff under Coen either worked with him with the Los Angeles Rams or Tampa Bay Buccaneers, or worked closely with one of his top hires such as Shane Waldron or Grant Udinski.
But Campanile was a leap. Not only was he not directly from the Sean McVay tree like Coen and so many other staffers, but he was a first-time defensive coordinator. Some rookie head coach hires may be afraid to trust a fellow rookie in such a key role, but Coen never flinched. And if he has to find a replacement for his star defensive play-caller.
Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile answers questions from the media after an NFL training camp session at the Miller Electric Center, Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
This doesn’t mean Coen shouldn’t interviews coaches with Rams ties such as Aubrey Pleasant or Raheem Morris, but Coen should recognize that these coaches will be in demand as several McVay-adjacent coaches begin to fill out their coaching staff in the coming weeks,
But it does mean the Jaguars shouldn’t settle and shouldn’t uncover every stone that they can. There are more coaching trees out there than the one they know, and their last coaching search proved as much. Coen made a home run hire at defensive coordinator before, and he can doso again.
Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile walks along the side line during the third quarter during an NFL football game at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Jets 48-20. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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