7 options for Colts to replace former DC Matt Eberflus

The Indianapolis Colts now have to look for a new defensive coordinator as Matt Eberflus has been hired to be the next head coach of the Chicago Bears.

Two offseasons in a row now the Colts have lost a coordinator. First, they lost Nick Sirianni to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2021. Now, they will watch Eberflus take over the job at Halas Hall.

When Sirianni left, the Colts promoted from within. They opted to go with Marcus Brady, who just completed his first season as the offensive coordinator under Frank Reich.

They will have similar options to work from on the defensive side of the ball. Some have experience as a defensive coordinator in the NFL while others just recently joined the staff.

The Colts will also have their options outside of West 56th Street if they wanted a more experienced defensive coordinator. That would likely mean a shake-up with the entire defensive coaching staff and it isn’t clear if that’s a direction the Colts want to go.

Here is a look at seven options the Colts could replace Eberflus with:

Alan Williams

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Current role: Colts’ safeties coach

An option to promote from within, Williams might be the most logical choice for the Colts. He’s very well equipped when it comes to running a zone scheme and got his start under Tony Dungy with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was then the defensive backs coach under Dungy and Jim Caldwell with the Colts from 2002-2011.

Williams has experience as a defensive coordinator for two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings (2012-2013) before reverting back to a role as safeties/defensive backs coach with the Detroit Lions (2015-2017) and then with the Colts again since 2018.

James Rowe

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Current role: Colts’ cornerbacks coach

Rowe just recently joined the Colts’ staff during the 2021 offseason. He was the assistant defensive backs coach with Washington for three seasons (2017-2019). Rowe is a bit more of a dark-horse candidate given his lack of experience at the NFL level. However, his work with the young cornerbacks in just one season has to be noted.

This would be somewhat of a big leap for Rowe so I would expect the Colts to either promote Williams or bring in an external candidate before giving Rowe the job.

Dave Borgonzi

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Current role: Colts linebackers coach

Borgonzi came over to the staff in 2018 with Eberflus and has been the linebackers coach since then. He got his start in the NFL as a coach with the Dallas Cowboys in 2011 so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he got a promotion with Eberflus in Chicago considering their connections.

Borgonzi would be another dark-horse candidate and one that may be lower on the list but if we’re looking at in-house options for Chris Ballard and Frank Reich to assess, he would likely be one of them.

Like Rowe, Borgonzi would be behind Williams in terms of internal promotion and would likely get passed over by an external option as well.

Patrick Graham

Syndication: The Record

Current role: Free Agent — Former Giants defensive coordinator

With a new era being ushered in over at MetLife Stadium, the Giants are likely to look another direction when it comes to a head coach. However, Graham proved in his three seasons with the Giants that he can corral a group of players and get them to play well above expectation. He has been a lone bright spot for the Giants over the last two seasons.

What would be interesting with Graham is the fact that the defense would change a good bit. He runs more of a hybrid front switching between even and odd down linemen while playing much more man coverage than the Colts would be used to. He’s an option if the Colts wanted to venture more into their Cover-3, zone match coverages.

Don 'Wink' Martindale

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Current role: Free Agent — Former Ravens defensive coordinator

Martindale might be looking for a head coaching gig but there’s a chance he doesn’t get one. If the Colts wanted a defensive coordinator with vast experience and success in this league, Martindale would be an option. That likely means a major shake-up on the coaching staff, but it might be worth it if it means the pass rush finally takes a step forward.

Martindale has been a master at generating pressure with his exotic blitzes for years. With the playmakers like Darius Leonard, DeForest Buckner and Kenny Moore to go along with the upside youngsters in Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo, it’s an option the Colts have to consider.

Kris Richard

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Current role: Saints’ secondary coach

Though it has been a while since Richard has held the role of defensive coordinator when the Seattle Seahawks’ Legion of Boom reigned terror upon the NFL, Richard is a very interesting choice and one that makes some sense in terms of the direction of the defense.

Richard’s defense in those years could be some of the inspiration that Chris Ballard has when building his defense. If Ballard—a defensive backs man himself—wanted to switch more to a Cover-3/press man scheme, Richard would be an ideal candidate to lead that charge. He had success running it with the Seahawks and should be in consideration with Eberflus gone.

Lovie Smith

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Current role: Texans defensive coordinator

It might seem like a lateral move for Smith to take the same role with a different team. However, his chances of getting another head coach opportunity will be higher if he’s in charge of a defense like the Colts rather than the Texans.

Smith’s defense showed promise during the second half of the season despite the lack of talent. His connection with Chris Ballard runs all the way back to 2004 when Smith was hired as the head coach of the Bears and Ballard three years into his scouting career. They were both there together until 2013 when Ballard moved on to Kansas City.

This would be an option for the Colts if they wanted more experience with a similar zone-heavy scheme.

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