Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile during an NFL scrimmage event at EverBank Stadium, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jaguars' Coaching Staff Well-Represented on This Key List

Originally posted on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI
By John Shipley | Last updated Nov 19, 2025 2:28 PM ET

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars' coaching staff has done an admirable job in the 2025 season, and the rest of the NFL is clearly taking notice.

Thanks to the Jaguars' 6-4 start just one season after a woeful 4-13 effort, the Jaguars have several coaches on Liam Coen's staff who were mentioned in a key list from NFL Network's Tom Pelissero that took a look at coaching names on the rise before the 2026 cycle.

Key List

The most important part of the list is the initial 24 names that are floated as head coach candidates for the next coaching cycle, a list that includes Jaguars first-year defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile.

"A former Rutgers safety and linebacker, Campanile coached for 14 years at the high school and college level before the Dolphins hired him as their linebackers coach in 2020. He brought his authentic, colorful coaching style -- memorably immortalized in a speech seen on HBO's Hard Knocks -- to the Jaguars in his first NFL coordinator job this year," Pelissero said.

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"And Jacksonville got off to a fast start, logging 14 takeaways in its first five games. Injuries in the secondary have contributed to some recent struggles. But if the Jaguars finish strong, it wouldn't be a surprise if some team takes a closer look.

After the Jaguars had one of the worst defenses in the entire NFL a year ago, Campanile certainly has the unit in a better spot. There have been some up-and-down weeks in the mix, but the Jaguars' highs are certainly significantly more impressive then they were a here ago.

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Amongst those performances was Week 11 against the Los Angeles Chargers, with Campanile's unit holding the Los Angeles Chargers to six points and held Justin Herbert to under 100 yards.

"It was a huge response, obviously, from our defense. I thought the defensive staff led by Campy did a great job of, we had some different guys playing in some spots but sort of trimming the inventory, making it about what we do best, putting the players in a position to be successful as much as possible and just letting them go," Coen said on Sunday.

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Other coaches listed as names to watch: Jaguars special teams coordinator Heath Farwell, Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski, Jaguars pass game specialist John Van Dam, and Jaguars quarterbacks coach Spencer Whipple.

This article first appeared on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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