Jacksonville Jaguars Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile has completed an interview with the Ravens for their head coach opening.
Here are five things to know about Campanile:
He turned around the Jaguars defense.
The Jaguars were one of the worst defenses in the league in 2024, ranking 27th in points allowed (25.6 per game) and 31st in yards per game (389.9).
In their first year under Campanile, the Jaguars jumped to eighth in points (19.8) and 11th in yards (303.6).
The Ravens pride themselves on stopping the run, and the Jaguars had the league's top run defense, allowing just 85.6 yards per game.
Jacksonville also had the second-most takeaways in the league, including five interceptions from linebacker Devin Lloyd, who had a career year.
His defense was unpredictable.
Campanile's defense thrived, in part, because it was so unpredictable.
From week to week, they would switch from heavy zone schemes to more man-coverage. They used an assortment of blitzes and disguises, which helped with the high turnover rate.
"I think he's done a really good job, and I love what he does," NFL analyst Greg Cosell said, per Yahoo! Sports. "I think he's a fascinating mix of a Vic Fangio scheme where he is aggressive but passive."
The New Jersey native takes a family approach.
When Campanile got the Jaguars' job last offseason under first-year Head Coach Liam Coen, he called several of the Jaguars’ top defenders just to chat and get to know them and their backgrounds.
Campanile is a football family guy. He hails from an Italian family in northern New Jersey, where he watched his father, Mike, coach at Paramus Catholic High School for 10 years. Anthony's brother, Nunzio, is the offensive coordinator at Connecticut. His other brother, Nicky, is the head coach at DePaul Catholic High School.
Anthony also got his start coaching high school football in New Jersey, starting at his alma mater (Fair Lawn) and moving on to powerhouse Don Bosco Prep.
He's Jersey through and through. Anthony played safety and linebacker at Rutgers and broke into the college coaching ranks at Rutgers in 2012.
He had interest from the Dolphins.
Campanile was the Miami Dolphins' linebackers coach for four seasons (2020-2023), and the Dolphins were interested in bringing him back before the team hired Packers Defensive Coordinator Jeff Hafley to be the next head coach.
After Campanile left Miami, he joined the Packers to work under Hafley. Hafley previously said Campanile "is a star."
He has some offense background as well.
While he has defensive roots, one interesting wrinkle in Campanile's coaching resume is that he spent three seasons as an offensive coach.
From 2013-2015, Campanile coached tight ends and wide receivers at Rutgers.
He helped mentor tight end Tyler Kroft to first-team All-American Athletic Conference honors in 2013, when Kroft led the Scarlet Knights in receiving yards (573) and receptions (43). Kroft was a third-round pick two years later.
That offensive experience helped give Campanile another perspective on the game and showed he can coach on either side of the ball.
