24 Facts About Sean Desai

Sean Desai was born on April 21,1983 and is an American football coach who is a senior defensive assistant for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League.

Sean Desai is the first NFL coordinator of Indian descent.

Sean Desai previously served as the defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles, as well as an assistant coach for the Chicago Bears, Seattle Seahawks, Boston College, University of Miami and Temple University.

Sean Desai did not play college football, instead attending Boston University with the intention of becoming an orthopedist.

Sean Desai graduated in 3 years with a double-major in philosophy and political science and a minor in biology, and gained his first exposure to coaching by returning home some weekends to volunteer as an assistant coach for his younger brother's freshman football team.

Sean Desai later switched his focus to education, receiving a Master's degree in teaching from Columbia University, shadowing their football team's coaching staff for one semester.

Sean Desai began his coaching career at Temple University, where he was a graduate student, eventually obtaining a PhD in educational administration.

Sean Desai worked as an adjunct professor in Temple's education department for two years, and was prepared to leave coaching to become a full-time professor at George Washington University in 2009; however, Golden pled Desai to stay with the assurance of a full-time coaching position the following season.

In 2011, Sean Desai joined the University of Miami as their assistant director of football operations.

In 2012, Sean Desai joined as the running backs coach and special teams coordinator at Boston College.

In 2013, Sean Desai was hired by the Chicago Bears as a quality control assistant under head coach Marc Trestman.

Sean Desai was retained by head coach John Fox in 2015 and Matt Nagy in 2018.

On February 8,2019, Sean Desai was promoted to safeties coaches.

On January 22,2021, Sean Desai was promoted to defensive coordinator, replacing Chuck Pagano, following his retirement.

Sean Desai became the first person of Indian descent to become a coordinator in the National Football League.

Sean Desai was not retained by the team following the departure of head coach Matt Nagy after the 2021 season.

On February 11,2022, Sean Desai was hired by the Seattle Seahawks as an associate defensive head coach.

On February 28,2023, Sean Desai was hired by the Philadelphia Eagles as their defensive coordinator under head coach Nick Sirianni, replacing Jonathan Gannon, who departed to become the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.

Sean Desai was moved to a lesser position in the coaches' box, bolstered after the Eagles' defense let up 42 points and 33 points in back-to-back weeks, ranking as the worst third down defense in the NFL.

On February 25,2024, Sean Desai was hired by the Rams as a senior defensive assistant.

On February 24,2025, Sean Desai was hired by the Cincinnati Bengals as a senior defensive assistant.

Sean Desai received his undergraduate degree in philosophy and political science, with a minor in biology, from Boston University in 2004.

Sean Desai earned a master's degree in higher and postsecondary education from Columbia University in 2005.

Sean Desai earned his doctorate in educational administration in 2008 at Temple University, and was an adjunct professor for two years.