Before he became the best NFL head coach in history, Belichick was arguably the greatest defensive coordinator in league history under Bill Parcells. He guided legendary defenses with the Giants and Jets under Parcells, while the Patriots’ defense has finished in the top half of the league in points allowed in all but two of his 22 seasons as head coach and finished in the top five nine times. His gameplans have been a work of art over the years, and Belichick’s evaluation of defensive talent is just as superb.

Quinn’s time in Atlanta as head coach turned into a disappointment, but his work as a defensive coordinator in Seattle and Dallas speaks for itself. The Seahawks appeared in two Super Bowls with Quinn leading the top defensive in the league in 2013-2014, and he’s led a miraculous turnaround in Dallas, with a defense that went from 28th in points before his arrival to seventh-best last season. There is something to be said for the talent he’s had to work with at both destinations, but there’s no question Quinn has been a big reason why those defenses performed so well.

Bowles has been a trusted lieutenant for Bruce Arians for years, and his work producing a top-10 defense in Arizona under Arians in 2013-2014 led to his first head coaching job with the Jets. He was able to marry talented young players with accomplished veterans in creating a top-10 defense over the last two seasons in Tampa Bay and was the obvious choice to replace the retired Arians as head coach of the Bucs this year.

Allen got his second opportunity to coordinate a defense after struggling as head coach of the Raiders from 2011-2014. He eventually turned around New Orleans, as they were from the worst defense in football in 2015 to a top-five defense in 2020-2021. As a result, Allen was the obvious choice to succeed Sean Payton as head coach, but he’s retained play-calling duties for now.

Bradley was out of his element as the Jaguars head coach in 2013-2016, but he’s done a fine job as coordinator of the Seahawks (2009-2012), Chargers (2017-2020), and Raiders (2021), usually getting the most out of his talent. When available, Bradley has been one of the most sought-after coordinator names in the league, which speaks for the respect his drawn around the NFL.

Frazier had a brutal go of it as the Vikings head coach in 2011-2013, but his track record as a defensive coordinator is pristine. He’s served in the role for multiple decades with the Bengals, Vikings, Bucs, and now Bills. With the aid of head coach Sean McDermott, Frazier has built the gold standard with his defense in two of the last three seasons, taking over a squad in 2017 that made a tradition of mediocrity. The Bills have been able to run complicated schemes in the secondary largely due to veteran safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde, but it’s Frazier’s calls and game-by-game scheming that make them work so well.

Looking at the full body of work, there is no doubt Pees is one of the best defensive coordinators to ever don the headset. He has his fourth NFL defensive coordinator job with Atlanta after filling that role at several college programs. Pees’ NFL teams have consistently been known for their defense, including the Patriots (2006-2009), Ravens (2012-2017), and Titans (2018-2019). He came out of retirement to lead the Falcons last year, though it’s been a struggle leading a youthful defense in a rebuild.

“Wink” Martindale wore out his welcome with an injury-plagued Ravens defense in Baltimore, getting fired after last season. We shouldn’t forget what he accomplished in four seasons, with three straight years of top-three finishes in scoring before last year’s decline. Brian Daboll was fortunate to get Martindale in New York, as Martindale continues to disguise pressure with the best of them.

Spagnuolo’s legacy as a coordinator is long and complicated, but the positives far outweigh the negatives. The highlight of his career was architecting a plan to beat the 18-0 Patriots in the 2007 Super Bowl in his first season as an NFL coordinator with the Giants. After some brutal results as head coach of the Rams and Saints defensive coordinator, Spags has revitalized his reputation as defensive coordinator of the Chiefs. KC’s defense made huge strides in his first season in 2019, leading to a Super Bowl, and has remained in the top 10 in points in each season.

Smith bust onto the scene in St. Louis, turning around the Rams’ defense in the early 2000s while the Best Show on Turf continued to persevere under Mike Martz, and he also led elite defenses while head coach of the Bears from 2004-2012. After some time in college, Smith has done well with his Tampa 2 scheme with a Texans defense that has been outmanned, but his days as one of the elite defensive minds in the league were long ago.

Barry was hired as an NFL coordinator for the third time last year, after previously working as coordinator of the Lions (2007-2008) and Washington (2015-2016). Green Bay was only able to match its defensive rankings from 2020 but did say in spite of major injuries like Za’Darius Smith and Jaire Alexander. Barry’s zone coverage scheme has been able to get the best out of the Packers’ secondary, and the team is off to a nice start early in 2022.

Donatell’s defenses performed extremely well in Denver alongside Vic Fangio over the last three years, but he has a very tough job reviving a Vikings unit that got old quickly under Mike Zimmer in recent seasons. He does have a wealth of experience, serving as coordinator of the Packers and Falcons in the past, in addition to Denver.

Morris had big shoes to fill last year, replacing Brandon Staley as the Rams’ defensive coordinator. While Morris became an NFL head coach very early in his coaching career, he didn’t get his first coordinator job until 2020 with the Falcons. The Rams regressed to the middle of the pack in points and yards under Morris last season but performed extraordinarily well when it mattered most en route to a Super Bowl. Morris is well respected around the league, and it’s likely only a matter of time before he gets his next head coach opportunity.

Joseph earned the Broncos head coaching job in 2017 because of the improvements he brought to the Dolphins defense as a first-time coordinator the previous year, and he’s done a nice job in Arizona over three-plus seasons with what he’s had to work with. The Cardinals have been deficient for most of his tenure at cornerback and plagued by injuries up front, yet they finished in the top half of the league in points allowed with his aggressive blitzing scheme.

Anarumo never had a full-time coordinator job in the NFL until he was hired by Zac Taylor in 2019. The overall results haven’t been great, but Anarumo’s work and improvement for a Bengals defense that made it all the way to the Super Bowl shouldn’t be overlooked. The secondary performed extremely well despite talent deficiencies and stood out while confusing Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.

A long-time defensive assistant in New England, Graham was credited was the play of a surprising Giants defense in 2020 that finished ninth in points allowed. New York’s coach staff was fired after last season, but he’s caught up with another Pats assistant in Josh McDaniels for Las Vegas.

A two-time Pro Bowl linebacker, Ryans succeeded Robert Saleh as the 49ers coordinator last year. San Francisco has strong defensive personnel in place, but they really didn’t skip a beat in the transition from Saleh, improving from 17th to ninth in points allowed last season. Ryans could be a head coach in waiting if the success continues.

A former defensive assistant with the Falcons, Titans, Vikings, and Colts, Gannon has done a very good job with the Eagles’ defense since he came in with Nick Sirianni last season. Philly finished 10th in points last season, and the added talent during the offseason has raised expectations further.

Tennessee’s defense showed vast improvement last year after promoting Bowen from outside linebackers coach, going from 24th in points during 2020 to sixth last season. The improvement in their front seven was a big reason, but Bowen’s attacking style made a big difference. Facing injuries early this season, Bowen’s system will be tested.

Boyer followed Brian Flores from New England, becoming a coordinator for Miami in 2020. With a defense that performed in the top half of the league in 2020-2021, Boyer was kept in place when Mike McDaniel was hired in the offseason but could face a new challenge with an offense that’s more about explosive plays than ball control.

Austin accepted his third defensive coordinator job, taking the reins in Pittsburgh this year after past stays in Detroit and Cincinnati. He has big shoes to fill after the Steelers moved on from long-time coordinator Keith Butler, but he fared well under Jim Caldwell in Detroit before struggling in one year with the Bengals.

Snow had some NFL experience as an assistant, but his only coordinator experience was in college before Matt Rhule brought him to the Panthers from Baylor. Carolina has ranked mostly in the middle of the packer since he was brought on board, but that is a fine result, given the complete rebuild on the defensive side of the ball.

Glenn was a tremendous NFL cornerback over 15 seasons, and he has also received strong press as a coach despite mediocre results as a coordinator so far. He served as a defensive backs coach in New Orleans for five seasons before Dan Campbell brought him over from the Saints last year.

Woods has his second opportunity as an NFL coordinator after previously serving in the role with Denver. The long-time assistant orchestrated major improvement in Cleveland from 2020 to 2021, guiding a unit that was much healthier into 13th in points and fifth in yards.

Hill is a relatively young assistant, getting his first crack at a coordinator job in 2021 under Brandon Staley in LA. The Chargers’ defense underachieved in his first season, ranking 29th in points with some struggles stopping the run, but the talent has been shored up in the offseason. With consistent pressure from Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack early in the season, the Chargers are off to a good start under Hill this season.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh has a defensive background but has trusted Ulbrich with the calls since being hired last year. New York was the worst defense in the league last year, albeit extremely plagued by injuries, and Ulbrich’s Falcons also struggled when he filled the role on an interim basis. Handicapped by his personnel, Ulbrich should receive the benefit of more time.

Has the game passed Del Rio by? He performed well as a coordinator in Carolina and Denver in the past, with many years as a head coach of the Jaguars and Raiders in between. However, Washington’s defensive performance was sorely disappointing last year despite loads of talent and resources spent at all three levels, finishing 25th in points allowed. The start to Washington’s season in 2022 hasn’t exactly given Del Rio more job security.

After a strong career as an NFL linebacker, Caldwell is getting his first opportunity as a coordinator under Doug Pederson. Most recently, he served as the inside linebackers coach in Tampa Bay, guiding the development of elite young linebacker Devin White. Jacksonville’s defense is off to a surprisingly strong start, including a shutout of the Colts in Week 2.

The 41-year-old Evero has his first coordinator job with Denver after showing good results as an assistant for the Rams. He certainly looks promising based on the resume, and Denver’s defensive results have been strong through two games.

Pete Carroll has shown some recent impatience with his coordinators and promoted Hurtt from his role as defensive line coach during the offseason. It’s too early to judge Hurtt on the team’s results just yet, but many of the young players on the defensive line and secondary have shown strong earlier development under him.

John Harbaugh made the controversial decision to fire Don Martindale after last season and brought back his former assistant, Macdonald, to lead the defense. Macdonald did an exemplary job at Michigan last season, but the early returns in 2022 have been poor.

Williams had two years of coordinator experience with the Vikings under Leslie Frazier in 2012-2013, but those results were bottom of the barrel in two of three seasons. It does say a lot for Williams that he’s getting his second opportunity to work under a defensive head coach in Matt Eberflus, but the results this time around remain to be seen.