Dennard Wilson is the Tennessee Titans' new defensive coordinator and coach Brian Callahan's first hire. Wilson won the job because he succeeded in getting greatness out of one of football's most demanding positions.
Dynamic passing offenses dominate today's NFL. It's no secret that Callahan's successful tenure as the Cincinnati Bengals' offensive coordinator and his work with several big-name quarterbacks (see Peyton Manning and Joe Burrow) played a part in his succession to Nashville.
On his first day as Titans coach, Callahan said he wanted a defense similar to those that gave him the most trouble as an offensive coordinator. Wilson's track record coaching defensive backs in an era that favors the forward pass more than ever is ey-catching.
The Philadelphia Eagles defense, with Wilson as defensive backs coach, had the NFL's third-best opponent passer rating (81.6) and posted the league's fourth-most takeaways (including 17 interceptions) in 2022 and went to the Super Bowl.
Muich of the praise for the Eagles' success that season went to a ferocious pass rush, but second-team All-Pro James Bradberry and Pro Bowler Darius Slay finished that season as the NFL's only cornerback duo to each produce at least 14 passes defended and 3 interceptions.
Bradberry posted the NFL's third-lowest passer rating allowed (55.9) and third-most passes defensed (17) among players targeted at least 50 times.
Another way to tell the story of Wilson's impact with the Eagles is how the team went from first to nearly worst in pass defense after he left. In 2023, the Eagles nosedived after a 10-1 start because their defense allowed the second-most passing touchdowns in the league and ranked 30th in passing yards allowed per game.
Slay told the Philadelphia Inquirer the defense would've been better off with Wilson in the organization.
“I think he would have made a lot of difference," Slay said. "He was loved by us. I thought, for sure, he should have stayed. ... Defense is a mentality. He has the right mentality to lead people in the right direction."
The Eagles' loss was the Ravens gain. In 2023, Baltimore's defense allowed the sixth-fewest passing yards per game at 193.1. They also recorded 18 interceptions (tied for second), held opponents to a league-leading 5.9 yards per pass attempt, and limited completion rate to just 60.6 percent.
The Ravens defense shined in the postseason, shutting down Houston Texans quarterback and presumptive rookie of the year C.J. Stroud in the divisional round and limiting Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City — albeit in defeat — in the AFC Championship Game.
Wilson is credited for helping Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton become a first-team All-Pro. Geno Stone posted a career-high seven interceptions Cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey and Ronald Darby allowed the lowest passer ratings of their careers.
In retrospect, the Titans defense had only four interceptions, two of which came in the season finale win against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Wilson's hire would seem to align with the defense Callahan envisioned a week ago.
"There's a lot of things you can do that in the covered structure game and the pressure package game, where it makes it really hard on an offense," Callahan said. "I know it gives me problems. I know the hard defenses to game-plan against, and those are the things that I'm looking for in the style of defense we're going to play."
More must-reads: