North Jersey born and raised, Anthony Campanile has landed the biggest job of his football career in North Florida.
The 42-year-old Fair Lawn native is the new defensive coordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars, accepting the offer to join new head coach Liam Coen’s staff late Thursday night. Campanile spent last season with the Green Bay Packers as the linebackers coach and running game coordinator for another New Jersey native Jeff Hafley’s defense.
Campanile interviewed for the Giants’ defensive coordinator opening this time last year and impressed before Big Blue went with Shane Bowen, who had previous DC experience in Tennessee. Now Campanile gets his chance.
“Anthony Campanile represents exactly what we want to be as a defensive unit and football team,” Coen said in a statement. “He brings an aggressive defensive mindset and a system that is adaptable to our players and allows them to play fast and physical.”
Campanile has spent the past five seasons as an NFL assistant coach, first with the Miami Dolphins as linebackers coach (2020-23) and then with the Packers last season.
Campanile’s football life played out on the fields of Bergen County as part of what stands as one of the state’s most decorated high school gridiron legacies. His father, Mike, was the iconic coach of Paramus Catholic, while his four sons have followed in his footsteps. Anthony coached at Rutgers, where he played, before working at Don Bosco prior to stops at Boston College and Michigan with Jim Harbaugh.
His brother, Nunzio, coached with Anthony at Don Bosco and led Bergen Catholic to a State title; he’s now the quarterbacks coach at Syracuse. Vito, his older brother, is the head coach of State champion Bergen Catholic, which has won four straight titles under his leadership. Youngest brother Nick won a State championship as the coach of DePaul.
Anthony followed Vito and Nunzio as the quarterback at Paramus Catholic, playing his varsity ball in his father’s run-and-shoot system. He earned All-Bergen honors, starring at Paramus Catholic and Fair Lawn, starting as a freshman.
Mike Campanile once told The Record and NorthJersey.com, of a 14-year-old Anthony, the quarterback: “He’s got Vito’s mouth and Nunzio’s competitiveness, so sometimes I’ve got to throw a net over him. He’s been reading defenses real well and finding the open receivers.”
His time working with Brian Flores and Vic Fangio in Miami with the Dolphins, Greg Schiano at Rutgers and Harbaugh at Michigan has provided valuable intel from respected coaches at the college and pro levels.
You’d imagine Campanile will build a system in Jacksonville that is a blend of Flores and Fangio – two distinct aggressive styles, as Coen noted. He also comes with experience of coaching on both sides of the ball, spending several seasons as the offensive coordinator of Don Bosco, replacing Nunzio when he became the coach at Bergen Catholic. He’s also coached wide receivers, defensive backs and linebackers.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: From Jersey to Jacksonville: Anthony Campanile is new Jaguars’ DC
