Meet the New Guys

The media finally got to meet the Eagles new coordinators on Thursday. This was the first chance to ask them about schemes, players and their histories. We didn’t learning anything groundbreaking, but it was good to get some insight.

Jonathan Gannon

The Eagles new defensive coordinator let it be known he prefers to be called JG. He does not want to be called Coach Gannon. That was interesting. It tells you he’s a younger guy and will come at things a bit differently.

Gannon wouldn’t commit to a specific scheme. He said Mike Zimmer is his biggest influence, but followed that up by talking about his time with the Colts opened his eyes to new ways to do things. Gannon talked a lot about hustle. That’s directly from Matt Eberflus, who was the DC in Indy. Eberflus coached under Rod Marinelli in Dallas and Marinelli was famous for his focus on hustle. He wanted 11 guys sprinting to the ball on every play. No excuses. Sounds like that will be part of the new Eagles defense.

It feels like the defense will be more like the Colts, but will have some Vikings twists mixed in. Coaches take things from everywhere they work. You never are going to have a scheme that is exactly derivative of where you came from.

Gannon said the word “smart” several times when referring to players and scheme. It is one thing when a coach says we want to be “fast, physical and smart” or whatever version of that he prefers. It is different when the coach goes back to a word over and over. That tells you it has a higher level of importance to that coach. Gannon talked about how smart Milton Williams was and that being one of the reasons he wanted him.

Someone asked about Eric Wilson. Gannon said the Eagles would use him at MIKE and WIL initially. That doesn’t really nail down anything. We knew those where the two spots he fit best.

Gannon talked a lot about flexibility, without using that specific word. He wants to build the scheme around the specific players he has, but needs to get them on the practice field before he’ll really know what he has. He will adjust the scheme based on opponents. You’re going to play differently vs Lamar Jackson than  you are Tom Brady.

I get a little scared when coaches talk about flexibility too much. You need some foundational principles. Do I want size or speed? Am I running a 1-gap 4-3 or do I want to do something else? I’m guessing Gannon has some foundational ideas, but didn’t want to get too specific with the media. We’ll see what the defense looks like.

I did come away impressed with him. He gave good answers, communicated well and made you feel confident in his thinking. I’m really curious to see what he does with the Eagles secondary. His background is with DBs and I felt encouraged after the way he talked about coaching DBs. He’s certainly got his work cut out for him.

Shane Steichen

Nick Sirianni is the head coach. He’s also the key offensive coach. Steichen is the offensive coordinator, but this will be Sirianni’s offense.

Steichen didn’t say anything too compelling. He seemed genuinely excited about the Eagles O-line. Remember that he’s coming from the Chargers, where the OL was seemingly an issue every year.

Steichen seemed genuinely excited about the duo of Jalen Reagor and DeVonta Smith. They both have big time potential.

It was harder to get a read on Steichen, but it was a solid first talk.

Michael Clay

If Sirianni loves ball, Clay loves energy. He kept coming back to that word. And it is a critical part of good STs play. Clay talked about the need for genuine energy and not something forced. He’s looking for players who want to be on STs and who will buy in to just what a critical part of the team it is.

When asked about new punter Arryn Siposs, Clay had nothing but good things to say. He’s only seen Siposs kick for a few days, but he’s impressed so far. That’s encouraging to hear, obviously.

Clay gave credit to Dave Fipp and Chip Kelly for getting his coaching career started and giving him a strong foundation. He mentioned Fipp’s ability to bond with players and get the most out of them. Some coaches want to connect with players, but that has to be done the right way for it to really work. Clay came across well in his PC so hopefully he’ll be able to build strong relationships with his players.

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I like the coaching staff based on what we’ve seen and heard from them so far. I’m encouraged. This group doesn’t have much elite talent to work with so they’ll need to do a great job of coaching to get the most out of this team.

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Roster Move: #Eagles have signed T Le’Raven Clark. pic.twitter.com/b8q5pB1U2c

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) May 19, 2021

Clark was a swing tackle for the Colts. He’s coming off an injury so this is purely a flier on someone who could help with depth if his rehab continues going well.

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