A Pressing Situation

The Eagles hunt for an offensive coordinator took an interesting turn on Friday. We learned about a new candidate, but someone we are already familiar with.

What if the answer to the Eagles coaching riddle was in front of us the whole time? https://t.co/Lz4urF8Xb7

— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) January 31, 2020

From the article:

According to a league source, Eagles quarterbacks coach Press Taylor has been interviewed during the team’s wide-ranging coaching search. The 32-year-old former Tulsa quarterback became a household name locally when he was given credit for digging up the “Philly Special” trick play in front of Super Bowl LII. He was elevated from quality control and assistant quarterbacks coach to QBs coach in 2018.

I would have mixed feelings on Taylor.

He is a young coach and that’s certainly something I would like. He has the kind of interesting background I like. He went to a junior college and then to Marshall for two years. Taylor became an assistant at Tulsa for a couple of years before getting an entry level job on Chip Kelly’s staff with the Eagles.

We think of football as innovation from the NFL down to the lower ranks, but it is just the opposite. The most creative coaches are at the high school and college levels. Their ideas slowly make their way into the NFL. Beyond that, a lot of the ideas come from smaller schools initially.

Taylor having spent time in junior college, Marshall and Tulsa is a good thing in that regard. Those schools weren’t winning based on elite talent. They had to scheme and be creative to have some success. The man Taylor worked for at Tulsa, Bill Blankenship, was a terrific high school coach getting his first chance to run a college team. This wasn’t a case of installing a proven scheme and just teaching it to the new players.

It sounds like Taylor understood the value of finding good plays and keeping an open mind even as a young assistant.

He started compiling plays as a graduate assistant at Tulsa and added significantly to his offensive reservoir in the five years he’s spent on the Eagles’ staff. Taylor’s biggest contributions generally came behind the scenes but he was thrust into the forefront when he was credited with digging up the trick play that developed into “Philly Special.”

And

“He was building it from the first day at Tulsa and never stopped,” Sherwood said. “I’m always bringing something up to him and saying, ‘What about this?’ And he’s like, ‘No, we’ve already seen that.’ He’s well ahead of anything I could think of.”

And

Press’ extensive files allow him to call up any play with just the push of a few buttons. When Reich asked him for gadget plays for the postseason, he had already compiled a stack that included a play the Bears ran successfully against the Vikings in 2016.

That play, of course, was the Philly Special.

Taylor has made strong impressions on coaches. Chip Kelly spent a few hours talking to him down in Miami at a random meeting and that helped lead to the Eagles job. Doug Pederson could have easily let the young assistant from the previous staff go, but thought enough of Taylor to keep him around.

Frank Reich thought very highly of Taylor.

“Press is a rising star. He’s got a really brilliant mind for the game and he’s a great worker,” Reich said in February, not long after he became the Colts’ head coach. “Press would always be welcome on my staff anytime. Or I’ll probably be working for him someday.”

Good coach. Good background. What’s not to like?

I was hoping the Eagles would bring in someone from the outside. That person could offer new ideas and a new perspective to give the offense a boost. Doug Pederson is a gifted offensive coach. Despite all their injuries, the Eagles were 12th in the NFL in points scored. It isn’t like the Eagles need an overhaul. Still, adding an outsider to the mix would really make a lot of sense.

Taylor is already part of the Eagles. They already have access to his ideas.

To be fair, moving to OC would give Taylor more time to focus on plays, scheme and the gameplan. As the QBs coach, he has to focus on making sure Carson Wentz and the other QBs are prepared. There is a lot of talk about technique. There is plenty of drill work. There is some overlap in the jobs, but they are different.

I think the Eagles were smart to interview Taylor. Find out what he might do differently. Get a feel for whether he might be the right guy for the job.

We are getting closer to the finish line. I would expect the Eagles to wrap things up early next week.

*****

One name that keeps popping up for Eagles' vacant WR coaching job is Aaron Moorehead, who is the WR coach at Vanderbilt. Played in the league with the Colts, also coached receivers at Texas A&M and Virginia Tech.

— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) January 31, 2020

Moorehead would make sense. He’s played in the NFL so he knows how the league works. He understand pro football.

He’s coached at multiple colleges over the last decade. He’s been part of the West Coast Offense, the Air Raid and other schemes. This is a veteran coach who knows what he is doing.

The last couple of WRs coaches for the Eagles were either lacking in experience or new to the NFL.

*****

Jeff McLane wrote a good piece on Andy Reid and how so many people are pulling for him to finally win his Super Bowl.

It would really mean a lot to me to see Big Red win it all.

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