Bruce Arians plans to promote assistant to defensive coordinator role, according to report

The Arizona Cardinals lost defensive coordinator Todd Bowles to the New York Jets, and now it appears they are looking internally to replace him.

Arians plans to promote an asst to DC, hopes to hire LeBeau as a senior assistant, per source. Don't know which asst. #AZCardinals

— Kent Somers (@kentsomers) January 14, 2015

There was a little bit of speculation that Vic Fangio might be a target for Arians if the former did not get the San Francisco 49ers head coach position. It now appears unlikely Fangio will get the head coach job, and this would be one more defensive coordinator role that disappears.

Fangio was non-committal about his future during a chat with Eric Branch, so it is certainly possible he will stick around with the 49ers. He does not seem like a reactionary type, and my guess is he will at least want to speak with the next head coach before making a formal decision.

If Fangio does depart, there is some speculation Dennis Allen might be a candidate to take over as defensive coordinator. He was fired earlier this season by the Oakland Raiders, but before that he served in various defensive coaching roles. One would imagine he would compete with Ed Donatell and maybe Jim Tomsula (if Gase gets the job), but we'll have to wait and see.

And for those hanging around your computer right now, I'll be on 1050 KNBR at 2:25 p.m. PT, talking 49ers coaching search with Ted Ramey. You can listen HERE.