Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen introduced himself to Duval on Thursday in his first press conference since accepting the job in January.
Nielsen, 44, has been tasked with lifting up a Jaguars defense that finished the 2023 season No. 22 in yards allowed and No. 17 in points allowed.
Prior to arriving in Jacksonville, Nielsen spent the 2023 season as the defensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons and the six seasons prior on the coaching staff of the New Orleans Saints. In his sole season in Atlanta, the team finished No. 11 in yards allowed, a massive improvement from its No. 27 finish in 2022.
On Thursday, Nielsen offered a few glimpses at what he’s planning for the Jaguars defense to look like in 2024. Here are five of the most interesting nuggets from his first press conference:
'We want to be an attacking and aggressive' defense
In his first answer of the day, Nielsen laid his philosophy out.
“The overview of everything is we want to be attacking and aggressive in everything that we do,” Nielsen said. “How we fit the run, how we attack blocks, how we play coverage. We want to be a forward-leaning, forward-running, going forward defense. … When we make our break, we’re coming out of that break to go hit you.”
The Falcons had zero players reach seven sacks in 2023, but the team still finished with more sacks than the Jaguars, who had Josh Allen and Travon Walker combine for 27.5 sacks.
'Nothing cheap and nothing deep'
There’s been some debate about how much man coverage Nielsen actually relies on. While plenty of metrics suggest the Falcons used it more than most, Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke said those numbers have been “blown out of proportion.”
On Thursday, Nielsen more or less agreed with Baalke.
“Nothing cheap and nothing deep,” Nielsen said. “When you press, you take away the quick game. And we like to play shell, which when you look at us, we take away the deep throws.
“It may look man or man-ish, at times, but sometimes there’s some press-bail and some nuances in the coverage that it actually is zone with tighter coverage outside. … If we’re viewed like [a team that relies on man], then we drop into zone, it could be advantageous for us on defense.”
That likely means the Jaguars cornerbacks could be in press more often than they were under Mike Caldwell, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be left to cover receivers one-on-one.
'We have the pieces in place' of coaching staff
A few hires for the Jaguars’ new coaching staff have leaked, but the majority of the defensive staff remains a mystery. Nielsen says it’s been assembled, though.
“We have the pieces in place and it will be announced here soon,” Nielsen said. “I will say this, I’m excited about the guys — I worked with some of them, haven’t worked with others, coached a few — and so it’s a great group of guys.
“First and foremost, good men. Secondly, really good teachers of the game.”
'Disguise is big,' 'we've got to keep it multiple' on third down
Despite having a pair of a double-digit sack pass rushers in Josh Allen and Travon Walker, the Jaguars were near the bottom of the NFL in sacks in 2023. While the team’s lackluster depth on the edge jumps out as a concern, Nielsen highlighted the secondary as the unit that can help a team’s pass rush on third down.
“We can’t allow the ball to come out of [a quarterback’s] hand quickly, because then the rush doesn’t get there,” Nielsen. “If the coverage has holes in it or gives an easy throw, then it doesn’t matter who we have coming off the edge.”
To avoid allowing those quick throws that never give the pass rush a chance, Nielsen said quarterbacks can’t be confident that they know where to go with the ball.
“Disguise is big,” Nielsen said. “We have multiple packages on third down we change week to week. Or maybe we don’t. So keep them guessing.
“It’s really big early in the game, we try to go out there and they’re trying to identify what we’re doing on third down and then go from there. Not ‘hey we’re gonna be in this look’ and then every single time ‘hey, we can make this throw.’ We’ve got to be multiple and keep changing.”
Josh Allen's situation 'will get worked out, we'll get him back'
Nielsen didn’t get too specific about how current Jaguars players will be used in his defense. Even when asked specifically about the usage of Travon Walker, he said only that players will be put in position where they “can have success.”
The defensive coordinator was more than confident he’ll have Josh Allen as a piece to work with, though.
While the pass rusher is due to become a free agent next month, Trent Baalke guaranteed to the media that scenario won’t come to fruition. It seems Nielsen has heard the same.
“When you got a guy like that, you want him back and I think that’s gonna work out,” Nielsen said. “I’m really excited to work with him … that’ll get worked out, we’ll get him back, and get him going and hopefully get him to improve.”
Allen finished second in the NFL in sacks with 17.5.
