Falcons reportedly block Jaguars’ request to interview Ryan Nielsen

The Jacksonville Jaguars were blocked from interviewing Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen for their vacancy at the same position, according to ESPN’s Michael Rothstein.

Nielsen, 44, is the second name to be linked to the Jaguars’ defensive coordinator job and the second to get blocked. Like the Carolina Panthers’ Ejiro Evero, Nielsen was blocked from an interview for a lateral move despite his team currently being without a head coach.

It’s possible in both cases that new head coaches in Carolina and Atlanta will be interested in hiring their own defensive coordinator, making Evero and/or Nielsen available for an interview with the Jaguars soon.

Nielsen spent six seasons with the New Orleans Saints as defensive line coach and served as co-defensive coordinator for the team as well in 2022. In 2023, he took over as the Atlanta Falcons’ defensive coordinator and defensive line coach.

In Nielsen’s first season with the Falcons, the team finished 11th in yards allowed, a massive improvement from the team’s ranking of 27th in 2022.