New Faces in New Places: Five Defensive Coordinators to Watch in '09

Despite appearing in the franchise's first ever Super Bowl, the Arizona Cardinals saw some turnover on their coaching staff.

While offensive coordinator Todd Haley left to become the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast was bounced from his gig in favor of linebackers coach Bill Davis.

Davis is assigned the task of improving a Cardinals defense that finished 19th in yards allowed per game (331.5), 28th in points allowed per game (26.6), 22nd against the pass (221.3), and 16th against the run (110.3).

He's also in charge of incorporating more 3-4 schemes into the Cardinals defense, a subject Davis is well-versed in having coached under the likes of Bill Cowher, Dom Capers, and Wade Phillips.

With that background, we can expect much more zone blitzes from the Cardinals defense.

Davis also is not inheriting a talent-starved unit.

The Cardinals defense has difference-makers at all three levels.

Defensive tackle Darnell Dockett is a high-energy stud.

Linebackers Karlos Dansby and Gerald Hayes are a very formidable pair in the middle.

In the secondary, strong safety Adrian Wilson is a Pro Bowler, cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is an emerging star, and free safety Antrel Rolle is a playmaker.

Throw in free agent acquisition Bryant McFadden at the other corner, and there's not many secondaries with the talent of the Cardinals.

One area of concern is the fact that the Cardinals don't really have a difference maker at the outside linebacker position.

The possible solution, and potential wild card, for the defense then is second -round draft pick Cody Brown of UConn.

Brown was an excellent pass rusher in college and provides the Cardinals defense with some coveted versatility as they shuffle from the 4-3 to the 3-4.

The Bottom Line: The Cards D displayed their potential during their run to the Super Bowl and still play in a division that features three offensively deficient teams - St. Louis, San Francisco, and Seattle.

With those things in mind, there's no reason to think Davis won't be able to improve the Cardinals defense in '09.

Like the Cardinals, the New Orleans Saints were an offensive juggernaut stymied by their defense in '08.

The Saints ranked 23rd in yards allowed per game (339.5), 26th in points allowed per game (24.6), 23rd against the pass (221.7), and 17th against the run (117.8).

Those statistics quickly remind us why the Saints finished at just 8-8 and failed to make the playoffs despite having Drew Brees and the league's best offense.

They also give you an idea why head coach Sean Payton gave up a portion of his paycheck to lure Gregg Williams to run his defense.

Williams, as we all know, is an outstanding defensive coordinator with an impressive resume, having led three different defenses to top-10 rankings—Tennessee, Buffalo, and Washington.

While not loaded with talent, Williams will oversee a defense that has three potential stars.

Leading the defense once again will be linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who led the team in tackles and is very good in the middle.

Sedrick Ellis is an emerging star on the defensive line. He's powerful and has an nice burst, and most definitely will build on his 30 tackle, 4 sack rookie season.

In the secondary, rookie Malcolm Jenkins has all the tools to become a future Pro Bowler.

The Bottom Line: Williams has some pieces to work with and should be able to improve the Saints glaring weakness.

At the very least, Williams attacking 4-3 scheme is sure to make the Saints a more aggressive unit and should improve the squad's weak pass rush, which recorded 28 sacks in '08 (tied for 22nd in the league).

New Browns defensive coordinator Rob Ryan makes this this list by default, as you can only improve a defense like the one he inherited from Romeo Crennel.

Throughout Crennel's four-year tenure, the Browns defense can best be described as both uninspiring and depressing.

They've been particularly pathetic against the run, finishing 28th last season (151.9), 27th in '07 (129.5), 29th in '06 (142.2), and 30th in '05 (137.6).

In the NFL, you must be able to stop the run, or you're not going to have much success.

Ryan vows to do just that.

Fortunately for Ryan, he has an ideal starting piece in nose tackle Shaun Rogers.

Shaun Rogers is everything you want your 3-4 nose tackle to be. He's enormous (6'4'', and rumored to have slimmed down to 320), he commands double-and-triple teams, and he's nasty. He's downright dominant when motivated, and Ryan should have no problem motivating the big guy.

At linebacker, D'Qwell Jackson is pretty good. I mean, Jackson did make 154 tackles last season, which led the league.

But after that, the talent level drops.

The remainder of the unit Ryan has to work with is filled with question marks.

Offseason acquisitions Roderick Hood (two year starter for Arizona) and Abram Elam should strengthen the secondary. Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald struggled at times last season, but they're both talented and received no help from a miserable pass rush that accumulated just 17.0 sacks in '08 (tied for 30th).

Hopefully, Kameron Wimbley returns from his two-year hiatus, develops a move or two, and becomes the threat from the edge his size and skills suggests he should be.

Another wild card at outside backer for the Browns is second-round draft pick David Veikune.

Veikune looks like he can be a steal for the Browns. He's big (6'3'', 257), rangy, and has a nose for the football. His last two seasons as a DE at Hawaii, Veikune recorded 16.0 sacks. All signs indicate that he should be able to make a successful transition to outside linebacker for the Browns.

The Bottom Line: Ryan will improve this unit.

Translation: Adrian Peterson will not break the single-game rushing record opening day against the Browns.

All joking aside, Ryan will at least get this group to play inspired defense, which is already an improvement.

Packer head coach Mike McCarthy brought in veteran coach Dom Capers to fix a unit that finished 26th against the run and 20th in total defense last season.

Capers is a proven commodity in the NFL, having spent 16 years as either a Head Coach or a Defensive Coordinator. He'll be implementing his preferred, aggressive 3-4 scheme in Green Bay.

This means significant changes for the Packers defensive personnel.

First, Aaron Kampman must make the transition from a 4-3 defensive end to a 3-4 outside linebacker. While Kampman is a very good football player, this move could be very difficult for him and may not end his time in Green Bay very well.

Also, corners Charles Woodson and Al Harris will be playing much more zone coverage in Capers scheme, which is something they're not really used to.

Woodson should have no problem making the transition, but Harris could struggle.

Regardless, first round draft pick B.J. Raji is a very nice present for Capers as he looks to improve the Pack rush defense.

Raji is a prototypical 3-4 nose tackle. He's huge and disruptive, and will command attention that will free up Green Bay's linebackers to make plays against the run.

The Bottom Line: Capers is a very good hire for the Packers. He doesn't exactly have the best personnel to run his 3-4 defense just yet, but should be able to improve a defense that struggled last season.

After spending seven years as Indianapolis' defensive coordinator, Ron Meeks resigned following the retirement of Tony Dungy.

Meeks landed the defensive coordinator job in Carolina, where he inherits a defense that was average last season (18th overall, 20th against the run, 16th against the pass).

Meeks 4-3, Tampa Two system is all about team speed. He likes quick, athletic players and emphasizes team pursuit of the football.

His scheme also relies heavily on pressure from the front four.

With the Colts, he had two outstanding pass rushers in defensive ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis.

He has a another formidable pair in Carolina with Julius Peppers and rookie Everette Brown.

Peppers, as we all know, is an athletic freak. At 6'7'', 283, Peppers is blessed with both power and speed as a defensive end. He's coming off a career high of 14.5 sacks in '08 and is an absolute terror for tackles everywhere.

Brown, on the other hand, is full of potential. He's the prototypical defensive end in Meeks speed-based scheme. Brown is smaller (6'2'', 256), but he's quick and has an array of moves to get to the quarterback.

Meeks also has the good fortune of having Jon Beason as his middle linebacker.

Beason's fast and violent and is a downright dominant middle linebacker, regardless of philosophy.

The Bottom Line: Meeks should get the most out of Peppers and Brown, but the loss of starting defensive tackle Maake Kemoeatu is significant for this defense.

Either way, the Panthers defense shouldn't be taking any steps backwards this season, as Meeks finds himself with several players capable of excelling in his system.