Cardinals reportedly moving on from DL coach Derrick LeBlanc
Jan 28, 2025, 8:04 PM
The Arizona Cardinals are reportedly moving on from defensive line coach Derrick LeBlanc, according to KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson.
LeBlanc was among the many new faces that came aboard in 2023 under the new leadership of general manager Monti Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon.
The coach was up against this past year with starters Justin Jones and Bilal Nichols going down with season-ending injuries in addition to rookie Darius Robinson’s slow roll due to a calf injury and the death of his mother.
Despite the injury issues up front, Arizona’s defensive line improved towards the back half of the season. A lot of that can be credited to Dante Stills, who finished the season with 4.5 sacks, four tackles for loss and a forced fumble. He was also the only Cardinals defensive tackle to crack the top 10 for run stop win rates at 38%.
Veteran L.J. Collier in a bounce-back year wasn’t too far behind Stills with 3.5 sacks and four tackles for loss. Roy Lopez also brought stability along the interior line, while Robinson got his feet wet in a six-game sample size.
But even with the improvement over the latter half of the year, the Cardinals still landed 20th in run stop win rate (30%) and 28th in pass rush win rate (33%).
Of the upgrades needed this offseason, defensive line and pass rusher are right up there at the top of the list.
Derrick LeBlanc the latest Cardinals assistant coaching departure
In addition to Arizona moving on from LeBlanc, the team will also need a new inside linebackers coach after Sam Siefkes was named Virginia Tech’s defensive coordinator on Monday.
They aren’t the only Cardinals assistants mentioned this hiring cycle, either. Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing interviewed for the Chicago Bears’ open head-coaching job before the team landed on Ben Johnson.
The Bears also requested an interview with Cardinals quarterbacks coach Israel Woolfork for their then-open offensive coordinator role.
Offensive line coach Klayton Adams is also getting interest for the Dallas Cowboys’ offensive coordinator job under new head coach Brian Schottenheimer.