Ad Disclosure
Michigan considering NFL DL coach for defensive coordinator, per report
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Michigan’s next defensive coordinator could be coming from a Super Bowl team.
CBS NFL insider Jonathan Jones shares that Kansas City Chiefs defensive line coach Joe Cullen is in the mix for the Michigan defensive coordinator position. The Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders are also interested in Cullen.
Chiefs defensive line coach Joe Cullen is considered a candidate for several defensive coordinator jobs, sources say. His name is in the mix with the Seahawks and Commanders, as well as at the University of Michigan.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) February 4, 2024
Cullen, 56, has been in coaching since 1990. He got his start at Massachusetts, his alma mater, as running backs coach. He made the switch to defensive line coach in 1991 and has focused on his defensive coaching throughout his career.
Cullen left Massachusetts for Richmond after the 1991 season. He was Richmond’s defensive line coach from 1992-96 before becoming the program’s defensive coordinator for the 1997 and ’98.
LSU tabbed Cullen as defensive line coach for the 1999 season. He then returned to Richmond as defensive coordinator.
Cullen’s first taste of the Big Ten came at Indiana. He was the Hoosiers’ defensive line coach for the 2002 and ’03 seasons before being promoted to defensive coordinator for 2004. In 2005, Cullen was a defensive assistant for Illinois.
In 2006, the Detroit Lions hired Cullen as a defensive line coach. In the NFL, Cullen has also coached with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Baltimore Ravens. He was Jacksonville’s defensive coordinator in 2021 before joining the Chiefs’ staff in 2022.
Sherrone Moore is looking for a new defensive coordinator after Jesse Minter’s departure to join Jim Harbaugh’s Los Angeles Chargers staff.
A former Florida beat reporter, Andrew writes for the Saturday Tradition News Desk.