It’s been a couple years since the New Orleans Saints’ two-time Pro Bowl linebacker Demario Davis played under defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen, but the coach clearly made an impression.
“Coach Nielsen is a phenomenal coach, a phenomenal defensive mind,” Davis told Juston Lewis of the Florida Times-Union at the 2024 Pro Bowl Games. “Definitely made our defense better, especially from a front-seven standpoint.
“I don’t know if there’s a better coach in the game, not to take anything away from anybody, but I think anybody who’s played on his defensive line just understands from a technique standpoint, from an intensity standpoint, from a detail standpoint.”
Nielsen, 44, spent six seasons as a defensive line coach for the Saints and worked as co-defensive coordinator in his last season with the team. In 2023, Nielsen left to spend one season as defensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons.
He made strong impressions at that stop too. Atlanta’s Pro Bowl safety Jessie Bates III gave pass rusher Josh Allen a rave review of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ new defensive coordinator and Bates told the Times-Union good things about the coach too.
Jacksonville finished 17th in points allowed last season and 22nd in yards allowed. While the team finished eighth in takeaways and had two pass rushers finish with double-digit sacks, Mike Caldwell was fired as the team’s defensive coordinator shortly after the season ended.
Nielsen, who helped the Falcons climb from 27th in yards allowed in 2022 to 11th in 2023, has been tasked with helping the Jaguars make a similar jump in 2024.
