Jonathan Gannon has continued to put together his new coaching staff in Arizona over the past week, making numerous hires. The Cardinals have made three new additions to the team’s defensive coaching staff.
First, Arizona is bringing in former Vikings assistant linebackers coach Sam Siefkes, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Siefkes spent two years with Minnesota before accepting the linebackers coaching position in Arizona. He’ll be paired with fellow new hire Robert Rodriguez, who will be the new outside linebackers coach, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Rodriguez coached on the same Vikings staff as Gannon for a number of years but has spent the past three football seasons coaching the defensive line at Arizona State. He’ll remain in-state for his next NFL coaching job.
Lastly, the Cardinals have landed their new defensive line coach in Derrick LeBlanc, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. LeBlanc was most recently the assistant defensive line coach for the Dolphins and has coached at the college level, as well, at Arkansas and Kentucky.
Here are a few more coaching updates from around the NFL:
- After losing LeBlanc to Arizona, the Dolphins have already replaced his position, according to Matt Zenitz of On3 Sports. Miami has hired Western Kentucky defensive line coach Kenny Baker to fill the position of assistant defensive line coach. Baker’s defensive line helped the Hilltoppers to finish second in Conference USA in sacks, scoring defense and yards per carry allowed in 2022.
- New Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has opted to retain Ben Bloom in a different role for 2023. Bloom, who spent last season as the Browns defensive running game coordinator, has been given the position of defensive line coach, according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. This isn’t Bloom’s first position coaching role, after coaching linebackers for the Cowboys in 2018 and 2019. He’s well-respected in league circles and is expected to be a rising name in NFL coaching.
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