ENGLEWOOD, Colo — Christian Parker is interviewing Friday for the New England Patriots' defensive coordinator position, a source confirmed to 9NEWS.
Parker, 32, held a defensive quality control position with the Green Bay Packers in 2019-20 when he was hired by Denver Broncos' head coach Vic Fangio to become a defensive backs coach in 2021. Parker is the only current Broncos' coach who was on Fangio's staff.
Broncos' then-head coach Nathaniel Hackett, familiar with Parker in Green Bay, kept Parker on his staff in 2022, as did current head coach Sean Payton in 2023. So while Parker doesn't have the typical extensive experience as defensive coordinators go, the fact he stayed on through the Fangio-Hackett-Payton regimes speaks to his talent and adaptability.
Last May, Parker participated in NFL’s Coach Accelerator program in Minneapolis. The program increased exposure between owners, executives, and diverse coaching talent. Now Parker has his first defensive coordinator interview with new Patriots' head coach Jerod Mayo.
Mayo was among the Broncos' 10 candidates interviewed by general manager George Paton and his search committee in 2022. Hackett wound up getting the job, possibly in part because there was hope he could help lure Packers' quarterback Aaron Rodgers to Denver. Rodgers stayed in Green Bay for one more season in 2022 and Hackett was fired before the end of his first season.
Hackett then became offensive coordinator for the New York Jets and became a big reason why Rodgers joined that team in 2023.
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