Gary Moeller has accepted the job as defensive coordinator of the Jaguars and will be presented to the Jacksonville media on Thursday.
Moeller, 60, interviewed for the position with Jaguars head coach Tom Coughlin on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week. He returned to Detroit and sought assurance from the Detroit Lions that they would make good on their $3 million pay-off to Moeller, who was due to receive $1.5 million for each of the next two seasons, as part of his settlement after being fired from the head coach's job in January.
The former University of Michigan head coach replaced Bobby Ross as Lions head coach at midseason last year, after Ross re-signed from the position. Moeller was Ross' assistant head coach and linebackers coach. New Lions President Matt Millen decided not to retain Moeller for the final two years of his contract with the Lions.
Moeller replaces Dom Capers, who left the Jags to become the head coach of the expansion Houston Texans. Capers was Coughlin's defensive coordinator for two seasons and gave the Jaguars the two best defensive rankings in their history, however, the defense was seen as the Jaguars' weak link last season.
"I'm very excited to join an organization that is first class, with a first-class head coach and first-class owner. That kind of reputation speaks for itself," Moeller said in a release from the Jaguars. "The team has a lot of very good defensive players and I'm going to do whatever I can to help get things back to where they were a year ago, when the Jaguars had the best record in the NFL."
"He is an outstanding teacher and a high-energy, inspirational coach who is truly a football guy and a people person. He is a great addition to our staff and we look forward to welcoming him to Jacksonville," Coughlin said.
