10 potential candidates for Oregon Ducks defensive coordinator – OregonLive

EUGENE — Andy Avalos’ departure to Boise State leaves Oregon searching for its third defensive coordinator in four years under Mario Cristobal and fifth in seven years.

Below is a rundown of 10 potential candidates to be Oregon’s next defensive coordinator, listed alphabetically. This is not an all-encompassing list, as the position naturally generates a lot of interest from coaches of varying degrees of experience.

Internal candidates

Keith Heyward, Oregon safeties coach

Of Oregon’s current defensive staffers, Heyward is most likely to be considered for the coordinator job.

Heyward was heavily considered for the position two years ago and spent the past two seasons with Avalos in the press box.

The Oregon State grad who has worked at Washington and USC has aspirations of being a defensive coordinator and is one of Oregon’s best recruiters.

His biggest challenge is that he’s never called plays.

Pros: Seamless transition, experienced in Pac-12 | Cons: Never been a play-caller

Joe Salave’a, Oregon defensive line coach

Salave’a is unlikely to get heavy consideration for the coordinator post. He has also never called plays and Oregon’s interior defensive line is coming off a subpar season, which considering the talent the group had coming back, is hard to rationalize.

Pros: Seamless transition | Cons: Never been a play-caller

Ken Wilson, Oregon linebackers coach

Of the three internal candidates, Wilson is the only one to ever call plays, doing so while the defensive coordinator at Nevada, where he spent 23 seasons before going to Washington State.

Pros: Been a play-caller, worked in Pac-12 | Cons: Time away from calling plays

OUTSIDE CANDIDATES

Bo Davis, Detroit Lions defensive line coach

Davis has been in talks with Texas about joining that coaching staff but the deal isn’t done. He hasn’t been been a defensive coordinator before so if Davis is hired it’s more likely as a position coach.

Pros: Reknowned recruiter with ties to the South | Cons: Never been a play-caller or coordinator

Jim Leonhard, Wisconsin defensive coordinator

Leonhard has presided over Wisconsin’s defense since 2017 and it’s been a top 10 scoring defense and stout against the run nearly every year since.

UW is Leonhard’s alma mater so getting him to leave will be difficult, even for a raise from an already $1.1 million. He’s also a defensive backs coach, making his addition likely to result in further shuffling on Oregon’s staff.

He doesn’t have any West coast ties, but Leonhard has recruited the West coast. He is a proven defensive play-caller, Broyles Award finalist and a future head coach in the making.

Pros: Proven play-caller of top 10 defense, talent developer | Cons: Lack of West coast ties

Kevin Steele, Former Auburn defensive coordinator

Steele is one of the most highly regarded, respected and compensated defensive minds in the game. Unlike two years ago, money is not a factor for UO as Auburn is picking up the $5 million buyout for Steele, who worked with Cristobal at Alabama in 2013-14 and they are good friends.

Auburn’s defense experienced a massive turnaround under Steele, whose scheme is not dissimilar from Avalos’.

Steele has produced a bevy of NFL players, particularly defensive linemen and edge rushers, where he’d be inheriting Kayvon Thibodeaux.

Pros: Vast experience, proven play-caller | Cons: Lack of West coast connections

Tosh Lupoi, Atlanta Falcons defensive line coach

Lupoi spent a season as Alabama’s defensive coordinator but his tenure as the defensive play-caller was rocky and short-lived, which led to his offseason departure to the Browns and now the Falcons.

He played at Cal, where he later coached and was the Rivals Recruiter of the Year in 2010. Lupoi also coached at Washington before going to Alabama, where he was the Crimson Tide’s best defensive recruiter and worked with Cristobal.

Pros: Renowned recruiter, deep knowledge and connections on the West coast | Cons: Play-calling ability in question

Chris Rumph, Houston Texans outside linebackers coach

Rumph and Cristobal were both at Alabama in 2013, after which Rumph went to Texas, Florida, Tennessee and now the NFL.

He’s a great recruiter and has signed most of his players from Georgia, Florida and Texas.

Rumph’s background has mostly been as a defensive line coach, but worked with outside linebackers at Tennessee and the Texans. Like Davis, he most likely would be hired as a position coach and someone else would be the coordinator.

Pros: Accomplished recruiter in Southeast | Cons: Lack of play-calling experience, hasn’t coached on West coast

Lance Thompson, Former FAU, South Carolina, Tennessee defensive line coach

Thompson worked with Cristobal while at Alabama in 2013-14. He was one of the best recruiters in the country and signed Julio Jones, A.J. McCarron, Mark Barron, D.J. Fluker and Trent Richardson while with the Crimson Tide.

Thompson coached the defensive line for South Carolina but was outside linebackers coach at Alabama. He’s also served at Auburn, LSU, Tennessee, Georgia Tech, UCF and FAU.

It’s hard to see him leaving the South, but he spent the last year not coaching so he could be more open to other geographic opportunities.

Pros: Great recruiter, winning track record at numerous stops | Cons: Never been a full-time play-caller

Todd Orlando, USC defensive coordinator

Orlando served in that role under Cristobal at FIU in 2011-12.

He delivered immediate results while at Texas and the drop the Longhorns saw in 2019 clearly wasn’t all on Orlando.

He’s just a year into a tenure at USC and a buyout could be prohibitive, but it would also be a ding to the Trojans to lure him away.

Pros: Scheme fit, well regarded recruiter, impact to USC | Cons: Will be a head coaching candidate with success