Out of the four candidates with reported interviews for the job, who would be your favorite option?
At the moment, the Green Bay Packers have reportedly set up interviews with four candidates for their defensive coordinator vacancy: former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley, Buffalo Bills linebackers coach Bobby Babich, Dallas Cowboys defensive line coach Aden Durde and Denver Broncos defensive backs coach Christian Parker. Our question is which option YOU would rather see calling defensive plays for the green and gold in 2024?
Here’s a little background
Staley comes from the Vic Fangio tree, which isn’t too far from what Joe Barry’s defense in Green Bay. While Barry did have his own spin on things, particularly playing a lot of 5-man fronts with Cover 3 behind it.
Barry was Staley’s linebackers coach when the later was the defensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams. So far, Staley has reportedly set up interviews for the Packers and Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator opening.
Babich is the son of a long-time NFL coach, who was once a defensive coordinator in the league himself. Like Staley, he’s interviewed for the Packers and Dolphins jobs, along with the New York Giants’ defensive coordinator vacancy.
He’s discussed as a possible heir apparent in Buffalo, should the team ever move on from defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier. Buffalo has been known for their zone defense for years.
Durde seems to be a favorite among the Sean McVay tree of coaches, as he’s apparently taken interviews with the Packers, Rams and Atlanta Falcons. Born in England, Durde actually played in NFL Europe before suiting up for NFL practice squads as a player.
He eventually worked for NFLUK’s International Player Pathway program before getting into the league as a coach. He got his start in Atlanta under then-head coach Dan Quinn and joined the Dallas Cowboys when Quinn took over as the defensive coordinator. Quinn is known for transitioning out of the Seattle-style match Cover 3 defense and sticking with a primarily Cover 1 approach.
Parker, who has been reported as the favorite for this job by some, has only taken one interview other than the Packers: the New England Patriots’ defensive coordinator gig — which has since been filled. Back in 2019, Parker was hired as a defensive quality control coach for the Packers after a two-year stint as a defensive analyst for Mike Elko’s defenses at the college level. Over the last three years, Parker has been a defensive backs coach for the Denver Broncos, despite coaching under three different head coaches and three different defensive coordinators.
According to current Broncos DC Vance Joseph, Parker was a key member in bridging Denver’s Frangio-style defense to match what Joseph wanted to do defensively. In 2023, the Broncos improved greatly around mid-season, though, they did allow 70 points to the Miami Dolphins in Week 3 of the season.
So who do you got? Vote who your favorite is in the poll below and scroll to the comment section to drop your reasoning.
Poll
Who do you want the Packers’ next DC hire to be?
Brandon Staley
Bobby Babich
Aden Durde
Christian Parker
