Is the Arizona Cardinals close to hiring a new head coach? The search began with a long list of candidates, and now it is down to the short list. Coaches have gone through a first interview, and a select few have been invited to a second interview.
Yet, still no hire. But that should come this week.
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Perhaps, Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill just hasn’t found his guy yet. Whatever he wants specifically, that certain someone hasn’t surfaced. Oftentimes, people have to settle for one thing or another, and then make a choice with the options in full display.
One prospect that remains in the select few, is Jacksonville Jaguars DC Anthony Campanile. On Thursday, the Cardinals will conduct a second interview with Campanile.
Who is he? What are his qualifications?
Beginnings
Like most coaching prospects, Campanile was a high school athlete playing quarterback for Fair Lawn High School in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. To be more specific, in Bergen County, New Jersey, which is the most populous county in the densest state in the union.
He is one of four brothers and is of Italian descent. Campanile will explain about his family’s Sunday dinners with traditional Italian food and often spending six hours at the table with family.
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His love for these meals is well-documented, with reporters often asking him about his favorite Italian dishes.
His father, Mike, was a high school football coach. All four brothers are currently football coaches. At times, their coaching careers have intertwined, as in some years, with a couple of the brothers working on the same staff together. They’ve also coached against one another here and there.
Campanile’s brother, Nunzio, is the offensive coordinator at UConn. His other brother, Nicky, is the head coach at DePaul Catholic (NJ) High School.
This family is famous in the State of New Jersey for coaching high school football. In the last 25 years, 21 New Jersey state high school championships featured a team coached by either Mike, or one of his four sons.
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Playing under his father, Campanile was situated in the run-and-shoot offense and eventually earned All-Bergen County honors. He went to Rutgers as a walk-on and was switched to linebacker for four seasons under head coach Greg Schiano.
After college, Campanile, now age 43, was hired by Fair Lawn High School as a linebacker coach. He was then hired by powerhouse Don Bosco Preparatory High School in nearby Ramsey, New Jersey as their DC. The school captured the 2011 and 2012 state championships. USA Today ranked the 2011 squad #1 in the nation.
After six seasons, Campanile took a position at Rutgers as a defensive assistant. He became part of a defense that ranked fourth in the nation in scoring defense (14.15 points allowed per game). Then he became the TE and WR coach for three years.
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Rutgers was busy trying to find a role for Campanile in their recruiting department. In the meantime, he had an opportunity to interview with a Power 5 school. He worked under Coach Greg Toal at Don Bosco Prep, whose two sons played for Boston College. There was an opening for the DB coach at Boston College, and Campanile was hired after a great recommendation.
After being hired, he told NJ.com:
“I am really excited to be a part of the Boston College community. I grew up in the Northeast, I received a Jesuit education, and my Catholic faith has always been very important so working at Boston College has always been a career aspiration for me. I am thrilled to be on Coach (Steve) Addazio’s staff with high-character men, and we are coaching tough kids where integrity is important. Those are the pillars of what I believe about football, and they all reside at BC. I know what it means to be a part of this team and this community.”
After two seasons, he was promoted and added the title of co-defensive coordinator, as well as coaching the defensive backs. In his final year, Boston College ranked #29 in defensive efficiency. His defense tied for the ACC lead with 18 interceptions. Campanile was voted “National Defensive Backs Coach of the Year” honors from 247Sports.com and FootballScoop.com, a national coaching site.
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Campanile was hired as a defensive assistant coach with the University of Michigan on Jan. 11, 2019. At the time, he had six years of high school coaching experience at an elite level, plus seven seasons coaching at Rutgers and Boston College. He spent a single season at Michigan. He was known as an elite recruiter, specifically in New Jersey.
Onto the NFL
After the 2019 season, Campanile was a top topic regarding coaching positions. He was rumored to be the next head coach at Boston College. Then, the news was that he would become the DC at either Rutgers or at BC. Finally, the media reported that he had been offered a promotion at Michigan to retain him and would be their LB coach.
Instead, Miami Dolphins head coach reached out to Campanile and offered him his squad’s LB coaching position. Flores is a Boston College alum and was familiar with Campanile’s profile and strengths. Flores was revamping Miami’s coaching staff, and Campanile was his second college coach hire.
Campanile was the LB coach for the Dolphins for four seasons.
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Jeff Hafley had coached with Campanile at Rutgers and then was the head coach at Boston College. In 2024, the Green Bay Packers hired him as their DC. Hafley then hired Campanile as their linebackers coach and running game coordinator. The Packers ranked seventh in the NFL in run defense at 99.35 yards per game and third in the NFL at 4.0 yards per attempt allowed. They also ranked sixth in the NFL in points allowed (19.9) and fifth in yards allowed (314.5).
The Jacksonville Jaguars had fired head coach Doug Pederson and hired Liam Coen as their new head man, who had been the OC with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was filling out his coaching roster and contacted Campanile about the vacant DC position. Campanile was interviewed and hired on January 30, 2025.
Jax bound
The season before Campanile arrived, Jacksonville had one of the worst defenses in the NFL ranking #31 in yards per game allowed (389.9) and #27 in points allowed per game (25.6).
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In just one season, the Jaguars were ranked the #11 defense overall and #1 in run defense.
2025 Jaguars defensive rankings:
Passing
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Fewest total yards: #19 (3,933)
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Most completions: #29 (396)
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Lowest yards per completion: #3 (6.2)
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Most interceptions: #2 (22)
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First down conversions: #22 (197)
Rushing
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Fewest total yards: #1 (1,455)
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Fewest attempts: #1 (369)
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Lowest yards per carry average: #2 (3.9)
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Fewest first down conversions: #3 (85)
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Fewest runs of 20+: #2 (4)
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Fewest runs of 40+: #1 (0)
In their first year under Campanile, the Jaguars jumped to eighth in points (19.8) and 11th in yards (303.6). Jacksonville allowed just 85.6 rushing yards per game. The Jaguars had the second-most takeaways in the league.
Several NFL clubs had Campanile on their head coaching search list. Some conducted interviews, although another candidate was hired.
Is it a coincidence that Jacksonville won the AFC South Division title and earned a playoff berth with a 13-4-0 record with a new head coach and a defense run by Campanile? He played a large part in their one-year turnaround.
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Campanile’s scheme operates mostly out of zone and will blitz 25% of defensive snaps that are geared towards creating pressure and hopefully will force turnovers. He uses a man-heavy approach, and his strategy to date has been impressive.
Television viewers got an up-close taste of Campanile’s aggressive leadership methods on another Emmy award-winning HBO documentary series Hard Knocks that followed the 2023 Dolphins.
Although he has interviewed for a head coaching position in the NFL and college, Campanile has never run a team as the head man at any level. Campanile is a potential future NFL head coach.
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Is that now? He is a Rutgers alum, so he already looks good in a darker shade of red.
Anthony and his wife, Tracey, have two daughters and a son.
