Eagles expected to name defensive coordinator soon

At least, there haven't been any reports that new coach Chip Kelly has found a leader for his defense.

The delay had some observers speculating that the Eagles were waiting for Super Bowl XLVII to end before they could tab one of the Baltimore Ravens or San Francisco 49ers assistants as defensive coordinator. The Eagles are interested in the Ravens' Ted Monachino, according to NFL sources, but Baltimore could always block the up-and-coming linebackers coach from leaving.

There is one other potential scenario. The Eagles may have already hired a defensive coordinator from the college ranks and are waiting until after national signing day on Wednesday to announce the move.

Some college coaches would decline to take an NFL job this late in the process out of respect for the high school seniors they spent the last several weeks recruiting, but it has happened before.

Several college coordinators were linked to the Eagles' opening. There was a report that Kelly was eyeing Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, but the Bulldogs said as recently as last week that they had yet to be contacted by any NFL team. Florida's Dan Quinn was on the Eagles' radar, but he took the Seattle Seahawks job.

Kelly has filled most of his coaching staff, although the Eagles are waiting until the coordinator's hiring is complete before announcing the additions. The following hires reportedly have been made on offense:

Former Cleveland Browns head coach Pat Shurmur will be the Eagles offensive coordinator; Virginia offensive coordinator Billy Lazor will coach quarterbacks; former Buffalo Bills assistant Bob Bicknell will oversee the wide receivers; Duce Staley will remain on staff and coach the running backs; and Ted Williams also will stay and switch from handling running backs to tight ends.

On defense, Jerry Azzinaro will follow Kelly from Oregon and coach the defensive line; Kentucky defensive coordinator Rick Minter will likely coach linebackers; and Boston College defensive coordinator Bill McGovern is expected to be in charge of the secondary. Dave Fipp, formerly of the Miami Dolphins, will be the new special teams coordinator.

The Eagles have kept most of their interviews for the defensive coordinator's job secret. New York Giants linebackers coach Jim Herrmann met with the team two weeks ago but took his name of out consideration. The Eagles also interviewed Browns linebackers coach Billy Davis last week.

Monachino, 46, said last week that he had not spoken to the Eagles or any other team about a defensive coordinator job. The same goes for 49ers defensive backs coach Ed Donatell, who was thought to be a serious contender for the position, although sources said he was not high on the Eagles' list.

The 49ers and Ravens have several other assistants who could conceivably be Kelly's target, although their names haven't been mentioned as prominently. Niners linebackers coach Jim Leavitt was the head coach at the University of South Florida and has experience as a college defensive coordinator.

Ravens inside linebackers coach Don Martindale was previously the defensive coordinator with the Denver Broncos. Ravens defensive backs coach Teryl Austin was the defensive coordinator at Florida in 2010.

Contact Jeff McLane at jmclane@phillynews.com. Follow on Twitter @Jeff_McLane.