According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, former Minnesota Gophers standout and Edina native Nick Rallis will be hired as the new defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals.
Rallis graduated in Edina in 2012 and redshirted during his freshman year that fall before recording 65 tackles and one sack in 19 career games for the Gophers. Rallis went on to become a quality control coach for Wake Forest in 2017 before joining the Vikings staff as a defensive quality control coach and an assistant linebackers coach from 2018-20.
The 29-year-old spent the last two seasons as a linebackers coach with the Philadelphia Eagles but is making the jump with new Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon to become the NFL’s youngest defensive coordinator.
Rallis will have some work to do fixing a Cardinals defense that ranked 21st in total defense and 31st in points allowed last season. They also lost J.J. Watt to retirement, but with Pro Bowl selection Budda Baker and a versatile Isaiah Simmons at linebacker, there are some pieces to turn things around in the desert.
