Last season, defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile was an unknown commodity. A rookie play caller who was inheriting a defense that was 31st in DVOA in 2024 (FTN). Fast forward to the start of 2026, and the Jaguars’ 44-year-old coordinator is someone on most front office radars.
Campanile has a diverse background, working with Don Brown, Brian Flores, Vic Fangio, and Jeff Hafley. Entering 2025, not many knew what the defense would look like.
Would the Jaguars solve their problems with aggression like Brown and Flores, or would they pivot to more structured looks like Fangio or Hafley?
Jacksonville’s defense finished sixth in DVOA, with one of the league’s best run defenses (fourth), but it lacked punch in its pass rush. Still, the defense caused enough problems to finish 13-4 and earn a divisional championship and a playoff berth.
Campanile’s style of play calling mostly reflected his time with Hafley in Green Bay, with a Wide-9 front and relatively even mix of open- and closed-post coverages. But there were flashes of Flores-themed pressures.
One of the hallmarks of a Flores-based defense is its use of open-post pressures. Under Campanile, one of their unique schemes in 2025 was using traditional Fire Zone paths (two defenders off the edge) with Quarters coverage behind them.
Unlike Flores, who tends to use B-gap “plugs” and edge pressure from his secondary, Campanile decided to use traditional paths complemented with Quarters rotations. These pressures, especially when run against 11 personnel, allow the defense to attack protections while still maintaining the ability to cap vertical routes or layer the intermediate against any play-action passing.
In 2025, Jacksonville ranked 4th in split-field pressure rate at 17%. Through the first two weeks of the new season, Campanile has increased that figure to 28.5% (4th in the NFL). The Jaguars were also 12th overall in Pass Blitz Rate (33%) in '25, and are at the same level through two weeks (37%). Campanile appears to be using similar logic in ‘26.
Against Denver in Week 2, Campanile used a Guard-Read mugged pressure to attack one of the NFL’s best offensive lines. “G-Read” schemes have become a popular complement to traditional double A-gap alignments that target the Center/RB communication link.
The Double-Mug alignments were something the Jags specialized in last season and reflect the Flores philosophy. Last season, Jacksonville ranked tenth in their usage.
Not only did Campanile attack the Broncos with a mugged alignment, but he also used specific structure to create the protection issues he needed to get home. Plus, he added a nice “twist” to make sure the pressure had layers against a mobile quarterback like Bo Nix.
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