Done deal:Tennessee Titans have appointed Dennard Wilson as the new DC

Tennessee Titans have appointed Dennard Wilson as the new DC

Dennard Wilson, the defensive backs coach for the Ravens, is anticipated to join Tennessee as the team’s next

defensive coordinator, according to sources cited by NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero on Wednesday.

In his thirteenth season as an NFL coach, Wilson, who had a Saturday interview

with the Titans, will be tasked with improving a team that finished the 2023 season just below mediocre. Tennessee

recently finished the season with a 16th-ranked scoring defense and an 18th-ranked yardage total, but their passing

defense, which is ranked 29th, was their weakest point. This is where Wilson’s experience lies.

This past season, Wilson, 41, was a member of the coaching staff in Baltimore that oversaw the league’s top

scoring defense. The Ravens finished sixth in passing yardage allowed and allowed the second fewest passing

touchdowns in the league, indicating that the secondary played a significant role in that ranking.

Additionally, Wilson was employed by the Eagles in 2021 and 2022. In his

second season, when Philadelphia led the league in passing yards allowed, he

oversaw the passing game and was the defensive backs coach. He was a coach with the Jets and the Rams prior to that

On the same day that the Ravens lost Mike Macdonald, their defensive

coordinator, to take a head coaching position with the Seattle Seahawks, word of his anticipated hiring was leaked.

Building blocks exist in Tennessee, including linebacker Harold Landry and defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, who

have combined for 22.5 sacks over the course of two seasons due to an ACL tear sustained in the preseason of 2022

However, there is a lengthy list of pending free agents that includes Sean

Murphy-Bunting, Azeez Al-Shaair, and Denico Autry.

According to Over the Cap, the Titans have the second-most cap space in the NFL going into the offseason with an

estimated $68.1 million. They could definitely use that to hold onto pieces that the previous administration had

brought in, or they could use some of that money to help build Wilson’s defense.

Regardless of the strategy, he will be greatly relied upon to assist Tennessee in

making it back to the postseason following two consecutive losses.