The Jacksonville Jaguars saw massive improvement in their defense under Anthony Campanile in 2025, and luckily, he is returning for 2026. Despite terrible defensive performances in 2024 under then-DC Ryan Nielsen, Campanile brought forward a tough, physical Jaguars defense that was No. 1 against the run.
Now, as Jacksonville looks forward to the 2026 season, Campanile is preparing to build on last year’s success. In an appearance on the O-Zone Podcast, Campanile discussed how he created the Jaguars’ defensive identity and the toughness he instilled in his players.
Much has been made about the loss of Devin Lloyd, who had a breakout season in 2025 under Campanile. But the majority of the roster is returning, which Campanile said bodes well for the team in 2026.
“That’s been nice, and I think the best part of that is the continuity, the amount of guys that are back,” he said. “You kind of feel like you’re working with the same unit. A couple guys who aren’t back with us, but the majority of the defense is back. So just being able to hit the ground running and having a foundation underneath so many of these guys has been really, really fun, because you’re kind of getting into much more of the specifics at this point, even in phase one.”
With so many players already familiar with his coaching methods and scheme, Campanile explained that it allows him to go into more of a deep dive from the beginning, rather than needing to get multiple new players caught up on the basics. He also gave recognition to his coaching staff and analytics team for keeping them on track on where they’re doing well, and which areas still need improvement.
“You look at that, and you really are able to kind of pull it all apart, rip it down to the studs, and say, all right, well, where can we improve this? And I think most of the time it never leads to wholesale change, but it definitely puts you down the path of some great ideas,” he said.
Campanile continued, “At every level of football I’ve been in, one of the things I learned was, if you’re doing something well, don’t ever concede that that’s going to happen again. You got to really look at what got you there. Why did you do that well? And you really need to continue down that path in phase one, phase two, phase three, in the spring. So we looked at some of those things that we were doing well. Why were we doing them well? Usually, and it’s certainly the case here, the drill work and some of the stuff that the coaches implemented in individual, that made a huge difference for us. Because there are fundamental things about football that’ll never go away. Just physiologically, how the human body moves, and really dialing it down in all those little categories and idiosyncrasies for the players.”
Campanile explained that muscles are, in his words, “dumb,” and the constant repetition is needed to build strong muscle memory. “We want guys with a black belt skill set and a white belt mindset,” he said. “Always looking to learn, always looking to get better.”
Building relationships with his players is also a big part of what Campanile believes makes a team successful. “It’s a people game. You win with people, and at the end of the day, it’s going to come down to who plays harder, who’s more disciplined, who does their job, and really, at the end of the day, who loves each other enough to do that,” he said. “And if you can foster that environment, and you’re lucky enough to have players who believe in that, at every level, you can win.”
It appears that Campanile has been successful in building that kind of culture; his players have spoken glowingly about him, and he was given an “A” grade in the NFLPA Jaguars’ report card.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: How Anthony Campanile is shaping Jaguars’ defensive identity
Reporting by Casandra Chesser, Jaguars Wire / Jaguars Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
