“Any list that doesn’t have (Brandon) Staley at the top is probably wrong,” are strong words by PFF’s Eric Eager, but that was the opening line of his rankings of the NFL’s best defensive play callers headed into 2021. What’s probably more surprising than the confidence in that statement however is the difference in experience and data points between Staley and the other five coaches on the list:
- Brandon Staley, Chargers (1 season as NFL defensive coordinator)
- Don Martindale, Ravens (3 seasons)
- Keith Butler, Steelers (6 seasons)
- Josh Boyer, Dolphins (1 season)
- Todd Bowles, Bucs (5 seasons)
- Leslie Frazier, Bills (12 seasons)
It’s not that a lot of experience should heavily influence a list like this one — we’ve seen first-hand with Sean McVay that having multiple decades of experience may not matter that much — but it is interesting that all that Brandon Staley has done is coach 16 regular season games with the LA Rams.