A familiar face to the Cardinals coaching staff returns to the Valley as the pipeline from fellowships to further opportunities in the coaching ranks continues.
DJ Gillins joins the Cardinals as the newest recipient of the Bill Bidwill Coaching Fellowship. As a member of the Bill Walsh Coaching Fellowship, Gillins had a stint with the Cardinals during the training camp in 2024.
The Bill Bidwill Coaching Fellowship was launched to help increase diversity and open up the doors for coaching experience in the NFL. Gillins is the seventh member to be selected. His addition comes just a day after recent Fellows Connor Senger and Blaine Gautier were promoted. Senger is now the pass game specialist while Gautier was elevated to offensive quality control.
While Gillins' specific duties have yet to be announced, he comes to the Cardinals with experience leading multiple rooms. At Stony Brook, his most recent stop, Gillins was the running backs coach. Before that, he was the wide receivers coach at Long Island University. From 2019 to 2021, the 29-year-old was a graduate assistant at Utah State, Arkansas, and Utah.
The former collegiate quarterback will have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience working with the staff and players beyond training camp. Similar to Gillins, Senger and Gautier also have offensive backgrounds.
