February 27, 2023 2 MIN READ

Report: Birds Bring Desai To Philly For Second Interview

Search For DC Nearing Closure

by Geoff Mosher

As the NFL Combine begins this week, and the Philadelphia Eagles facing several questions about the future of their defense, the search for their next defensive coordinator appears to be nearing its end.

The team reportedly brought candidate Sean Desai into the NovaCare Complex on Monday for another interview, per NFL Network. As we’ve reported on Inside The Birds, Desai was one of several candidates to have his first interview with the Eagles via Zoom.

#Seahawks associate head coach and defensive assistant Sean Desai is in the building in Philly today, doing a second interview for the #Eagles vacant DC job, per me and @MikeGarafolo. Desai, a Vic Fangio disciple, is a finalist for the post previously held by Jonathan Gannon.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 27, 2023

Desai spent the 2022 season as an associate head coach/defensive assistant under Pete Carroll for the Seahawks, but Desai more of a branch off the Vic Fangio tree, having spent four season in Fangio’s staff with the Chicago Bears, where Fangio was defensive coordinator from 2015-2018.

Desai was promoted to Bears’ defensive coordinator by then-head coach Matt Nagy in 2021 and his defense finished that season ranked sixth in total defense and third in pass defense.

GETTY IMAGES: Sean Desai, former Bears DC, is a candidate for the same job with the Eagles.

The Bears cleaned house after their 6-11 season, and Desai was hired by the Seahawks last year. His defense in Chicago featured multiple fronts and employed similar concepts that were set in place from Fangio’s time there.

Others who have interviewed for the Eagles’ defensive coordinator job are Vance Joseph, who has since become Denver Broncos defensive coordinator; University of Georgia co-defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann, who ITB reported on Monday was impressive in his interview; Eagles defensive backs coach and pass defense coordinator Dennard Wilson, who’ll be strongly considered for the job; and former University of Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, who has since pulled out of the running to undergo hip surgery.

– Geoff Mosher (@geoffmoshernfl) is co-host of the “Inside the Birds” podcast and staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com.

Listen to the latest Inside The Birds podcast with Adam Caplan and Geoff Mosher:

Or watch on YouTube:

About The Author

Geoff Mosher NFL Insider/Analyst

Geoff Mosher is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years experience covering the Eagles, the NFL and other college and pro sports across several different multimedia platforms. He is co-host of the acclaimed Inside the Birds podcast, the leading podcast for intel on the Philadelphia Eagles, and co-host on 97.3 ESPN's drive-time show. He has also hosted on Philadelphia's sports-talk station, 94.1 WIP and 97.5 The Fanatic. Geoff was the lead Eagles Insider from 2012-2015 for NBC Sports Philadelphia, where he wrote for the website and appeared daily on the station's TV shows, including Quick Slants, Philly Sports Talk, Eagles Pregame/Postgame Live and Eagles Extra. Prior to joining NBC Sports, Geoff worked the Eagles beat from 2005-2012 for the Wilmington News Journal, where he broke several major news stories and also won an Associated Press Sports Editors award under the category of Breaking News for his coverage of the sudden death of Phillies play by play broadcaster Harry Kalas. Geoff has appeared on ESPN's SportsCenter, NFL Network, NBC Sports Network, FOX29, 6ABC and has conducted interviews for Sirius/XM NFL radio and countless other radio stations across the country.