More on the Coaching Search

Posted: January 13th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 80 Comments »

CSN writer Reuben Frank dropped somewhat of a bombshell on Sunday afternoon when he tweeted out that the Eagles had interviewed Brian Billick for the coaching gig back on Monday.  Wow, I mean wow.  I didn’t see that coming.

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You can go here to read Roob’s full story.

Apparently Lurie, Howie, and Smolenski went down to Maryland and met with Billick for about 8 hours.  They came away impressed and consider him a candidate.  So let’s talk about Billick.  I’ll be up front with this fact…if the Eagles did hire him, I’d be disappointed.

One huge point has to be discussed.  Billick the announcer and Billick the coach are two very different people.  Billick is an awful announcer.  He made dumb statement after dumb statement on Sunday.  The capper was when he noted after the Falcons winning FG that this win now validates Seattle as the #1 seed in the NFC.  That was a very back and forth game, but getting the winner and loser confused is not good in such a dramatic moment.

If Lurie or anyone judged Billick off his TV work, the guy would have zero shot at anything.  Heck, I’m shocked he keeps his TV job.  He literally brings nothing to the table.  I told Jimmy Bama once on a podcast that it is shocking that Billick coached Ray Lewis, Jamal Lewis, Tony Siragusa, Deion Sanders, Chris McAlister, etc. and yet never has a funny story to tell.  How on Earth is that possible?

As a coach, Billick is still a complicated subject.  He was the OC for Minnesota in 1998.  They set the NFL record for points with 556.  The team went 15-1 and if not for a missed chip shot FG would have gone to the Super Bowl.  The Ravens hired Billick away after that season.  In his second year Baltimore featured one of the greatest defenses in NFL history and won the Super Bowl.

The Ravens never did build a good offense.  Billick drafted QB Kyle Boller in the 1st round, but wasn’t able to develop him into a good starter.  Jamal Lewis did run for 2,000 yards and you have to give Billick credit for setting aside the passing game to focus on what worked.  Billick had 2 very good seasons in Baltimore, 2000 and 2006.  Set those years aside and his record is pedestrian (55-57).  Include them and he’s 80-64 with a title.  Billick was 5-3 in the playoffs, but 4 of the wins came in 2000.

It is hard to describe Billick.  He should be an offensive guru because of his background.  He played at BYU.  He coached in college under Dennis Green, who had worked under Bill Walsh.  Billick became friends with Walsh through Green and helped Walsh write his legendary book, Finding The Winning Edge.  Billick had multiple Top 10 offenses in Minnesota.  He’s not just a product of Randy Moss and jump balls 40 yards down the field.  Billick knows how to design and run a good attack.  The offense was a combination of Joe Gibbs and Bill Walsh.  When it worked, it was a thing of beauty.

Billick’s failure to ever build a decent offense in Baltimore is hard to believe.  They had some bad luck with players.  Had they gotten Terrell Owens back in 2004, things might have been very different.  Travis Taylor was a 1st round pick that didn’t pan out.  QB Chris Redman didn’t pan out.  Nor did RB Musa Smith.  And so on.  The Ravens are scout driven so these weren’t a bunch of Billick’s guys.  He did fail to develop them, though.  The only QB he ever did develop was Brad Johnson, who believe it or not was young once.

You can argue that Billick’s greatest strength was hiring coaches.

Marvin Lewis
Jack Del Rio
Mike Smith
Rex Ryan
Mike Nolan
Mike Singletary
David Shaw
Greg Roman
Jeff FitzGerald (terrific LBs coach)
Dennis Thurman (good DBs coach)

I have no problem with the Eagles talking to Billick.  He does have a good background and is a smart guy. As I said earlier, I will be disappointed if they hire him.  I think Lurie knows this would be a tough sell to the fans and media so the only way they would make this move is if Billick had a truly great interview.

* * * * *

Many fans are getting nervous with the coaching search.  The Billick story did not go over well, to put it mildly.  Some think this shows that the Eagles are desperate.  I can certainly see where you might get that feeling.

Here’s my take, which I’ve touched on before.  There is no “must have” guy.  There is no candidate that you just drool over.  Since that is the case, why not talk to as many people as you can?  What’s the down side?

The worst thing you can do is limit your options for no good reason.  The goal is to hire the best possible coach.  Talking to Billick only costs some gas money and a few hours.  Even if he’s a longshot, there can be value in talking to him.  Maybe Billick offers his thoughts on Greg Roman.  Maybe he’s got some good ideas on staff members to pursue.  Talking to him does not hurt you. Looking around does not hurt you.

It is important to realize that the Eagles aren’t trying to go cheap here.  They hoped to get one of the stud college coaches.  That didn’t work out. They’re looking for the right guy.  They don’t want to settle on a hot coordinator just because that’s the trendy thing.

Back to the college guys for a second.  The Eagles weren’t rejected by coaches that were hot to leave college.  Chip Kelly has been HC at Oregon for just 4 years.  Brian Kelly just finished his 3rd season at ND.  Bill O’Brien just finished his first season at Penn State.  None have won a national title.  All of them have good situations at their school (in terms of money, power, and popularity).  I think they were hesitant to leave their schools more than they were hesitant to come to the Eagles.  These guys now make NFL type money and have much better job security.  There isn’t the rush to jump to the NFL.

* * * * *

It will be interesting to see what word leaks on the Gus Bradley interview.  That took place Saturday and then Seattle lost on Sunday.  He’s now free to be hired, if the Eagles want him.  I have no idea if they do.

UPDATE … Jay Glazer says the interview went “great”.

Do not pay too much attention to the playoff games as any clue on who to hire.  If you like a guy’s resume and he interviews well, then the results of his final game are irrelevant, unless they are so awful that they can’t be ignored (something like the Cardinals 58-0 loss from a few weeks back).

Seattle did give up 30 points today, but you have to give the Falcons a lot of credit.  How many times did you see a guy tapping his toes along the sideline or in the back of the endzone?  Not having Chris Clemons really hurt their pass rush.  There certainly were problems for Seattle, but nothing that would concern me.  This wasn’t like the stretch of games the Eagles had where receivers ran wide open down the middle of the field with regularity.  That would be a red flag.

_

  • D-von

    I waiting to hear the eagles have scheduled a second interview with Gus Bradley

  • austinfan

    Eagles have lost out on exactly one potential candidate, Marrone, and I think he was wired to Buffalo because he’s already at Syracuse and it’s not a big hardship for his family, plus he didn’t want to wait and take a chance.

    Other than that, Eagles have a shot at anyone they want, the same shot they had a week or two ago. So why not talk?

  • SleepingDuck

    Some guys posted at BGN that Jay Glazer said on the pregame show that Bradley had a very strong interview last night.

    • TommyLawlor

      Glazer is money so I hope that’s right;.

      • D3FB

        I can confirm that Glazer did say this on the air. Monte is gonna be PISSED, when his lover kicks his ass twice a year.

        • laeagle

          Maybe that’s how their relationship rolls, and this has all been a setup? We’re all just the whips and chains hanging on the wall of the pleasure room for those two guys.

  • Ark87

    The screening process for coaching interviews:
    1) Check for candidate’s Pulse
    2) Have Candidate Identify this object:

    • TommyLawlor

      I knew Lombardi wasn’t a tough guy.

    • Baloophi

      Hey! That’s one of them fumbling bags, right?

      • TommyLawlor

        Bryce…is that you?

      • Ark87

        yes, other acceptable answers: hot potato or live hand grenade, just get it to the other team or safely away from your teammates at all costs.

  • Stacks209

    Hey Tommy.

    I’d like to offer my two cents on the Eagles coaching search. First of all, I think with this mostly young Eagles team we need one of two types of coach.

    1. Could be a young and energetic guy. The whole team is so young that some old crusty guy may not be able to relate to the kids on this team. It may be best for a younger face, fresher ideas and that will gain the confidence of the team. The team will view the coach as one of “them” and like they’re growing into champions together.

    2. Would be the old seasoned coaching (semi) legend type. People like Billick, Gruden, Herm, Cowher… (not that I’m advocating for any of those names). This young team may be forced to respect and buy in to the coaches philosophy due to the “rock star” of coaching type status these guys have. The been there, done that factor.

    Which do of these two types of coaches do you think would be a better fit for our Eagles?

    • TommyLawlor

      As long as the candidate isn’t too young, I think either type is good. You wouldn’t want Kyle Shanahan at age 33 running this team, but a guy like Gus Bradley is 46. That’s plenty old, even though he’s never been a HC.

      The real key is for the coach to command the respect of the players and to connect with them.

      • Stacks209

        Agreed Tommy. Plus.. Kyle tried to kill RGIII. The U.S. Attourney’s office is considering about bringing charges against him!

  • Stacks209

    My other thought on the coaching search is this.

    I think the head coach, is like.. a mascot or something. A figurehead. The X’s and O’s matter, ..but not as much as the team’s belief in themselves, the coaches, the plan and their ability to win as a team. I think often a team takes on the personality of its head coach. This happened here in Philly with Andy. I think it happened in SD with Norv as well. Not enough fire and passion.

    This team may need a fiery leader to bring out the best in them and make them hold each other accountable for being successful. Maybe we need a more outspoken and animated HC on the sidelines? I mean, how often would DRC avoid being physical and tackling somebody when he looks up and sees the Chucky Stare looking back at him?

    This team is just missing that “it” factor in a coach. Andy’s teams were always too soft, too finesse. I’d love that Gang Green mentality back. I really think we need a guy not so much for the X’s and O’s but a guy to buy into. I guy that this team would follow into battle 300 style.

    • http://twitter.com/makarov__ Songbird Rescue Cat

      I got your “IT” guy right here:

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTAONrIIVI0

      “Jesus christ brodie! SNAP THE FUCKING BALL! do you hear me? SNAP THE FUCKING BALL!”

      Todd Haley, ladies and gentleman. The man Sundays should not be without.

    • xeynon

      Agree with you that teams tend to take on the personalities of their coach, but totally disagree that X’s and O’s are overrated. On the contrary, I think it’s emotion and demonstrativeness and Knute Rockne speeches that are overrated, and wildly so. Belichick isn’t a screamer. Neither is Tomlin, or Payton, nor was Dungy or Bill Walsh or Joe Gibbs or a lot of other highly successful coaches. All those guys were great football tacticians though. Ray Rhodes, conversely, could peel paint off the locker room walls with a pregame speech but never won squat. Emotional fire can come from the players. Much more important from the coach are strategic and tactical acumen, vision, teaching ability, and the willingness to make tough decisions.

  • Stacks209

    Ok. So my two favorites for the job are:

    Gus Bradley. Not a huge shocker, but I really like two things about him. First, he’s fairly young. I think our young team would better relate to him. I think he would bring a new energy and that could become contagious in the locker room. Secondly, I like how his defense has preformed. He doesn’t have he greatest name talent on that defense but he has them playing with swag and confidence.
    I WOULD LOVE FOR OUR EAGLES D TO PLAY WITH SWAG LIKE THAT!!

    Keith Armstrong. He doesn’t have the greatest resume. But, he did go to Temple so he has some local roots. I personally thin he has the “it” factor. After watching a video Tommy posted on him recently, I think he “sounds” the part of a HC. When you listen to him talk, his voice and how well spoken and personable he is, you can’t help but want to listen to him. As long as he surrounded himself with good assistants I’d like to have him here. He will be a very good HC one day!

    WILDCARD PICK————-

    Gruden/Billick. I think either of these guys would be successful because of what I said in previous posts. This team, these young players need a fire lit under their A$$. These two coaches would be able to do that. They both have the celebrity status of being TV analysis’s. They both have Super Bowl rings to prove to the young knuckelheads on this team that they aint full of it.

    We need an upgrade in talent on this team in spots, but our primary (2) reasons we had such an awful season were lack of discipline, and lack of heart. If you fix those two things we can get this organization pointed in the right direction.

    • TommyLawlor

      The defense needs a solid scheme and good teacher as much as they need emotion. Bradley’s ability to teach his plan and techniques would be the real keys. Emotion comes and goes. We learned that with Ray Rhodes.

  • http://twitter.com/makarov__ Songbird Rescue Cat

    6 ABC is already running a piece tonight on “stupid stuff Billick said in today’s NFC playoff game”. I don’t see how hiring Billick is possible without a major fan and media backlash. Every dumb thing Billick has said in a broadcast for the last 5 years can, and will, be posted in youtube clips.

    Back before Reid was formally fired, I suspected the coach finally hired would be someone similar to Andy Reid. Namely, a young, current pro assistant 98% of fans had never heard of. It would be a gutsy hire, but at least be someone who came without baggage, who’d have a chance to build the team without more than usual criticism from fans and beats reporters.

    In contrast, any re-tread coach (Nolan, Billick, Lovie, Whisenhunt, etc.) who’d already failed somewhere would immediately be on the hot seat. Any personnel move made, all the draft picks, would immediately be second guessed, and assurances that those are Howie’s decisions would be brushed off. God forbid they draft a QB in the 1st or 2nd round and that individual doesn’t start and perform at least as well as RG3, Luck, or Wilson this past season.

    Don’t get me wrong. Fans would second guess either Kelly, Bill O’Brien, or even Bill Belichick if he were hired as Eagles HC. They’ll second guess the no name guy too. It’s a matter of degree. Hire an unknown, or even a coordinator as 1st time HC, and you have some breathing room.

    • Stacks209

      Great point as far as being on the hot seat immediately because they are a known commodity. Do you have any favorites for the job?

      • http://twitter.com/makarov__ Songbird Rescue Cat

        Of known interviewed and to be interviewed, I’ll go with Bradley and McCoy as 1 and 1a or 1a and 1. Jay Gruden is a riskier selection, but could be interesting. At least he has HC experience in the Arena league.

        I’m against Arians because of his age (60). That’s “ageist” but there it is.

        Obviously, I’m opposed to all former head coaches.

    • TommyLawlor

      It really is going to be interesting to see who they hire and what the reaction is. Lurie isn’t afraid to make unpopular moves. He just has to believe in the candidate strongly.

      • http://twitter.com/makarov__ Songbird Rescue Cat

        For unknown reasons, probably his pretty face and pleasant personality on MNF, some fans out there really, really want Jon Gruden. I oppose him for all the reasons you’ve listed time and again.

        I should have mentioned him, and probably Cowher, as individuals who would surpass the “re-tread rule” I’ve just termed. That said, I don’t think either really want to be NFL head coaches at this time. If they did, they would be already. There’s at least 2-3 vacancies every year, and probably half a dozen mediocre teams who would fire who they already had for either one of those two.

        Like you said, though, as Eagles fans we do live in interesting times.

  • austinfan

    One question – people keep saying the Eagles were rejected by four or five coaches, but I have yet to see a reliable report that they made an offer to anyone, the closest might have been Brian Kelly. There is some weird media agenda to turn this from a job search to a beauty contest, but the three college coaches were deciding on the NFL as much as the Eagles (though they seemed to be more interested in the Eagles than any other team IF they went NFL). They had a small window to decide (after the bowl game, before it impacts recruiting). Until they make that decision that they’re even interested in the job (i.e., ready to negotiate rather than simply discuss), there’s nothing to offer unless you’re dumb enough to try and overpay a guy to do what he really doesn’t want to do.

    In fact, given that only one potential candidate, out of probably a half dozen guys similar in stature to Marrone, is gone from the pool, I don’t get the fuss.

    The biggest loser so far is Jon Gruden, who obviously has been back channeling his interest (too many friends tooting his horn) and getting no response. Which makes you wonder what he did to become persona non grata. Did he send Howie a dead fish wrapped in newspaper?

    • TommyLawlor

      Nobody has patience. They don’t understand the process, which is understandable. They think the Eagles should have 5 names lined up. You go talk to them and hire the best one. Sounds logical.

      For whatever reason, this is a strange year to be looking for a coach. The process isn’t as direct or quick as anyone wants. Therefore they start to spin the situation. Blame Lurie. Blame Howie.

      • xeynon

        I think the modern 24 hour sports media cycle is also part of it. There’s so much attention on this team and pressure for content about them now that when there’s no new news to discuss the “candidates may not want the Eagles’ job!” angle becomes irresistible eventually, particularly as a negative take like that is guaranteed to generate plenty of page views and feedback from the portion of the fan base that is perpetually disgruntled and resentful of the team’s management. Even Phil Sheridan whom I normally find the most reasonable and level-headed of the Philly sports columnists recently fell into this trap. A properly conducted coaching search SHOULD be thorough and patient but those are qualities often lacking in both the media and your typical fan.

    • Skeptic_Eagle

      It seems like the media agenda has now gone to the national level. Lacanfora has an interesting article up on the Eagles coaching search, and young GM. All vicious lies, no doubt…

  • TommyLawlor

    Jay Glazer says the Bradley interview went great.

    http://msn.foxsports.com/lacesout/glazers-edge-coaching-spots-still-open/

    • goeagles55

      Bradley had planned on fine-tuning his 30 seconds left, 1-2 point lead defense midday Saturday, but instead he interviewed with the Eagles.

      • TommyLawlor

        So that’s what happened.

  • laeagle

    What kills me even more about all of this overreaction is the fact that they said they would be thorough. And leave no stone unturned. They’re doing what they said. They haven’t really missed on anyone yet. What’s also funny is that most of the people bitching about the college coaches who decided to keep their great jobs would have been screaming at Lurie and Howie if any of them had been hired. “Chip Kelly doesn’t know the NFL! These guys don’t know anything!” But somehow the team sucks because they didn’t take the job.

  • SteveH

    I have an idea, lets hire Brian Billick, let him assemble an awesome coaching staff, fire him after 1 year, then hire a real head coach. Brilliant no?

    • Garp

      I was thinking the same thing.

      Hire Billick and let him bring in an all-star coaching staff. Fire him after 1-2 years when he inevitably fails and have a great crop of suitable replacements on staff.

      A Machiavellian approach to managing a football team.

      • TommyLawlor

        You guys are evil geniuses.

        • http://twitter.com/sjampendk Patrick

          I cant help getting a very clear image of Jeffrey Lurie doing the Mr Burns: “Excellent”.

      • SteveH

        *steeples fingers* *cackles maniacally*

  • shah8

    One note about Billick:

    He is actually one of those coaches that can cope with a player like Foles, and let’s say I’m wrong and Foles can be of use long term–Billick has consistently succeeded, if not always that well, with people like Foles. Flip side of this was, well, Grbac, Tony Banks, Chris Redman, Jeff Blake, McNair, most of these older guys that are lacking in mobility. Reason he tried for Kyle Boller, and why he might have very limited tolerance for lack of improvement.

    Shouldn’t that be 2000 and 2006 good seasons?

    I’d be okay with Billick, not so much for his X and Os, or his teaching, but because he consistently surrounds himself with capable people. Should be said, though, that he had similar issues with Lovie Smith about the OC.

    • TommyLawlor

      Fixed the 2000 and 2006 line. Thanks.

  • T_S_O_P

    Hiring good coaches is a real positive for me, hiring bad ones cost the most winningest coach in Eagles history his job, yet he got to that position in no small part because of his initial coaching hires.

    Billick maybe hard to sell to some fans, but I am sure when the Big Blue hired TC I am sure there fans were scratching their heads too. Similar to BB, unless he goes 4 and zero in the playoffs, TC’s playoff record is poor.

  • GermanEagle

    I absolute hate Brian Billick. The person, the coach, the TV announcer. Just everything about him. Personally it would be Rick Kotite re-loaded for me.
    Why on earth can we not at least interview Jon Gruden???

    • Ark87

      True, I could see the opting to speak with neither of them…but just Brian Billick, didn’t see that one coming.

    • TommyLawlor

      Kotite is too harsh. Billick has a legit track record, whether we like him or not.

    • xeynon

      Billick and Gruden have basically the exact same resume – long-time, highly respected offensive assistants who got head coaching gigs in other places, promptly won Super Bowls on the backs of defenses somebody else had built, then struggled to maintain success before ultimately being fired and going into television. Why would you hate Billick and be hot-to-trot for Gruden? That doesn’t make sense to me.

  • http://twitter.com/n3th3rman Christopher Miller

    I still hold out hope that Bradley is the guy, but if not, I don’t see a reason not to at least talk to Jon Gruden (no rock unturned?), especially after reading Sheil’s piece this morning. You guys are knocking it out of the part this offseason helping us uninformed better grasp the pro/con list for every candidate. /hat tip

  • Kevin_aka_RC

    I guess I’m the only one on the Lovie Smith bandwagon because of the experience and rebuilding he would provide to the defense. While may not be a great coach, we could be contenders if paired with the right young OC (Chan Gailey, Mike Mularky, Pat Shurmur).

    • tad

      God save us if the FO considers Chan Gailey “young”.

  • Davesbeard

    Wow Jason, just wow. Some serious hyperbole and guesswork in this article. I trust Lurie far too much to believe he’d put his organisation in the hands of a “Shaky and woefully of his depth” GM.

    http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/21553122/monday-observations-scrutiny-now-settling-on-shaky-eagles-gm

    • Anders

      yea, I saw that one. Its so awful, its not like he got any sources telling him that any of the coaches didnt want to job because of Howie.

    • http://twitter.com/RIPworms RIP Worms

      Another Howie hatchet job. Dan Graziano of ESPN had a much more objective piece: http://espn.go.com/blog/nfceast/post/_/id/48200/review-the-issues-with-the-eagles-job

      As for La Canfora’s unnamed “sources,” I’m guessing they all had names like Moe Tanner, Bo Canner, and Zo Janner. And they all sent him unsolicited e-mails to help with his story. Just a guess.

      • 47_Ronin

        I read the Graziano piece as very similar to La Canfora except without the salacious lines about Roseman. I have to think there is some truth to trepidation about a young, law schooled trained collective bargaining agreement geek as the GM

    • Mac

      The article was clearly titled incorrectly it was supposed to read:

      Monday Obfuscations: Scrutiny won’t settle on shaky reporting.

  • http://twitter.com/MFlicker Mike Flick

    I think the people who are complaining that we haven’t signed a coach yet, are the ones that are complaining that we haven’t signed any FA’s yet.

  • new coach

    I would think that Billick would not be able to assemble a great staff, as he has been away from the game for so long.

    Maybe part of talking to these guys is to pick their brain and learn from them. In a sense, a free consultation session. For Billick, if he blows them away, makybe he gets the job, so he decides to do it

  • new coach

    As an aside, are we sure Roseman is a good talent evaluator? Graham played well this season.

    But, we traded Chris Clemons and a 4th for Tapp in 2010 and also drafted Graham over Earl Thomas, who waould have filled a huge need for us

    Who would you rather have?
    a 4th rounder
    Clemons
    Thomas

    or
    Graham
    Darryl Tapp

    Obviously can;t judge by one move, but this one jumped out the past few weeks

    • xeynon

      Some of this is system/coaching though. We had Chris Clemons, and he wasn’t a productive player here. That the Seahawks’ coaches have turned him into a feared pass rusher is an indictment of the Eagles’ defensive coaching staff, not Roseman. As for Graham, he’s been hampered by a severe knee injury and lack of playing time (which is again on the coaches, and specifically Washburn), but every time he’s gotten on the field healthy he’s been productive and disruptive. I want to see him get starter’s snaps for a full season before I decide whether or not he was a good pick.

    • ceteris_paribus1776

      lets not forget he traded Asante for a 7th because he had DRC in place. Basically an equivalently awful tackler and even less of a play-maker.

      To be honest I don’t have much faith in the guy, yet. He was nothing more than a football fan who worked on contracts before a few years ago. Of course he’s picked things up along the way, but he must’ve been learning from someone inside the organization, which means his perspective isn’t all that fresh and he’s extremely wet behind the ears.

      Either way we’ll be told that we can’t put those things on Roseman because we can only judge him from 2012 onward even though the make up and transaction of the team took a very obvious turn when he was coincidentally named the new GM…

      • Anders

        Samuel was a scheme thing nothing else.

        • ceteris_paribus1776

          yet DRC doesn’t seem to bring anything else to the table…

          They let Asante do his thing for years., with 3 different coordinators and he consistently made plays. You give up plays, but you get them in return with Asante. At least you know what you get. With DRC it’s inconsistency and very little else. Mistake.

          • Anders

            You seem very harsh on DRC. Did you see how he played before Castillo was fired?

          • ceteris_paribus1776

            The same way he played for 4 years in Arizona. A good game hear and disappointment there. There is a reason Zona traded him and a 2nd for a QB that had played 1 good game in his 3 year career.

          • BobSmith77

            Yup and I would really question DRC’s effort in a few games this year including the Cowboys and Bengals game where I think he quit in the 2nd half.

            I was really high on DRC going into the season. I thought he would try to prove his naysayers wrong & play at a consistently high level this year especially since he was a FA.

            After this year and watching him play the last 2 years, I think DRC is a talented guy who is a loser and a quitter. He will probably get a decent contract form someone this offseason but I hope it isn’t the Eagles.

      • austinfan

        DRC is a man cover guy, Asante can only play in a zone system.
        DRC can’t play inside, Asante doesn’t want to play inside.

        • ceteris_paribus1776

          none of this is news. Besides, the Eagles have never been purely a zone system. In fact, under Johnson they played alot of man with Taylor & Vincent, then Sheppard and Brown. Zone blitzes and press coverage on the outside was how we lived and died for 10 years.

          And, no one has yet brought his key FA acquisition, Nnamdi. Supposedly the perfect man cover guy yet quite possibly the worst FA signing since Lurie bought the team.

          It’s always the position coaches and/or Reid for the guys who didn’t work out or the guys who are excelling in another uniform, but we’re supposed to give Roseman credit for this draft? How do we not know that Washburn wanted Cox, Reid/Castillo wanted Kendricks since the SAM was supposed to be the play-making LB in Castillo’s defense, Ried/MM wanted Foles and Brown? It seems like people have conveniently give Roseman all the credit for the good moves and none of the blame for the poor ones. I just don’t think that’s how it works. He’s made some good moves, but also plenty of poor ones

    • austinfan

      Meaningless.

      First, we don’t know how much control Howie had before 2012, AR had pushed for more control over personnel and got it.

      Second, a lot of decisions were made around coaching needs. Sean/Segrest didn’t want Clemons, too small for their system, Washburn didn’t want Teo or Dixon, too slow for his system.

      • ceteris_paribus1776

        yet they drafted Ricky Sapp and Teo instead? Both small fast guys. Philly had for years believed in undersized DEs. Not really buying that.

    • Anders

      Did you see how terrible Thomas was at tackling yesterday?

      • Skeptic_Eagle

        No one is going to confuse Earl Thomas for Steve Atwater. However, he made a beautiful break and play on the ball in the air that really kind of shifted momentum for the Seahawks, after they put their first TD on the board. Obviously, we all saw him do something similar a week ago. You don’t need to look at the multiple pro bowls to know the guy is a very good safety–and considering the position is one of the few that players actually get better at as they age, he’ll likely be around making plays for awhile.

        To the original comment, If Clemons had been here with Washburn, he would have produced like he does in Seattle. Jim Johnson & McDermott did not let Clemons pin his ears back and rush the passer, the way he’s allowed to in Seattle. Considering he wasn’t fantastic in the way they *were* using him, and was supposedly disruptive, I really had no problem dealing him for Tapp.

        • 47_Ronin

          Actually Seattle uses Clemmons the way the Eagles claimed they were when they signed him–as the Joker, where he can rush or drop into coverage. Clemmons, however, was injured a lot while he was an Eagle and I think the coaches decided to move on.

          • Skeptic_Eagle

            I disagree. I think JJ/McDermott did use him as the Joker, but that role dropped him out more in coverage than they should have. Check out the defensive snap numbers from PFF, and you’ll see that JJ/McDermott had Clemons in coverage a whopping 12% of the time when he was on (in limited snaps) in both 2008 & 2009 (2008: 242 Snaps, 30 in coverage, 2009: 213 Snaps, 25 in coverage). Compare that to his first year in Seattle where he was in coverage 4% of the time (1017 snaps, 37 in coverage). He was in coverage 5% of the time in 2011 (954, 48), and moved up to 7% this year (917, 59), with the addition of Bruce Irvin giving them another viable speedrusher.

            He plays the “Leo” Role for Pete Carroll, much like Willie McGinest on the pre-Belichick Patriots, or Clay Matthews at USC; Carroll’s own spin of doing it from a 4-3 under front w/the guy’s hand in the dirt is the adaptation of George Seifert’s old “Elephant” role he used Charles Haley in during the 49ers (former) glory days.

            JJ/McDermott’s Joker role had him dropping in coverage a LOT on zone blitzes. They must have liked his athleticism, and since the DLine sort of sparked the last big playoff run the Eagles went on, in 2008, he must have been pretty effective. I think the guy does his best getting after the passer. Considering Cole’s comments about having to drop in coverage, I think McDermott had a harder time selling these guys on dropping in coverage for the sake of the scheme in 2009, after JJ passed; he just didn’t have the same cred that JJ did.

  • ceteris_paribus1776

    I think what is going on with the HC search lies somewhere in between the camps that thinks that the Eagles are undesirable and have missed the boat and that they are simply taking their time being thorough because they said they would be and didn’t really want anyone they have interviewed thus far.

    On the one hand, you don’t have a “luncheon” set up with a guy that extends all day and causes him to miss a flight back to a city where he is having a follow-up interview. Their was obvious mutual interest with Chip. Secondly, you don’t schedule a follow-up interview with a guy upon is return from vacation unless the first interview went well enough for you to consider him a viable candidate. Thirdly, the Brian Kelly 2nd interview was set up after Marone didn’t even go to his scheduled interview because he signed with Buffalo. I also think that fact that they flew into ATL the day before a coach has a divisional playoff game shows they were getting a little jumpy about making sure they were out in front on the Bradley chase because they were not on the Chip or Marone chases (in the Chip case I think they realize that if he really wanted to go into the NFL that monster deal Cle offered him would probably have been enough to cancel his meetings in Philly). I believe they genuinely would’ve have hired one of those three coaches had two of them not decided to return to college and the third not even interview.

    On the other hand, all of their NFL guy interviews are being diligent. They scheduled interviews with all 3 ATL coordinators right away, met with McCoy and passed made sure they a first crack at Bradley and why not bring in Billick and schedule meetings with Gruden and Arians while you are waiting for Sea to exit. You don’t know when they will lose, so in order to make sure you’ve let no stone un turned you meet with other candidates. At this point I think they realize there are a couple of guys out their who they could live with so unless one of them knocks their socks off immeidately, they’ll see the process through.

    • teltschikfakeout88

      I approve of the logic in this post therefore instead of hitting the panic button I will sit back and chill. Although, I am torn as to whether or not Roseman is a guy who would or should have much say in hiring a football coach outside of answering the question “Can I work with him on personnel”. Outside of that I would consider him light in the pants to be a significant decision maker in this process. I hope and pray that this is Lurie’s decision and thus if it goes sideways we as Eagles know who to rightfully blame…..

    • 47_Ronin

      I think there is a lot “smoke screens” involved with this search process. Some candidates are probably being interviewed so the Eagles can look busy and not exclusively associated with a coach (except Chip Kelly). If we are to believe that Lurie & Roseman have prepared for this moment before firing Reid they should have a list of candidates, but I don’t think Billick was originally on that list.

  • BobSmith77

    Rhodes hiring was announced on Feb. 2, 1995.
    Reid hiring was announced on Jan. 11, 1999.

    Reid was the guy the Eagles apparently wanted all along. Vermeil was the Eagles’ first choice in ’95 but passed by mid-January because he wouldn’t get total control as coach & GM.

    Just some historical perspective.

    • ACViking

      1 coach lasted 14 years.

      1 coach flamed out after 2.5.

      • BobSmith77

        Yeah. I know others on here have a somewhat different opinion but I thought Rhodes was a below average coach overall here and pretty horrendous when he got the combined GM/coach role leaving the organization in bad spot. Stunned this team rebounded so quickly and so strongly after Rhodes got canned.

        I think it was a mistake too for the Chiefs to give Reid the combined GM/coach role too. Guess we’ll see but Reid struck me as a guy who would have been better off sitting out a year, recharging his batteries, and taking a gig the following year.

        • new coach

          Thought Reid took 2012 off? :)

          I agree with you but KC is a great spot for him. He is given control. He will be smart and will not draft a QB 1st overall. Basically if he does, that just starts his clock to being fired. Better to draft or trade, Moreover, he joined the worst division in football. manning proved he doesnt have much left.

          • BobSmith77

            Quite possibly. I liked ‘Andy Reid the coach’ even if he had some notable game-day weaknesses. Much less enthralled by ‘Andy Reid the GM’ though here in Philly.

            There really isn’t an objective way to measure it since you don’t really have a control group but I am not a fan of giving a coach complete organizational authority.

  • ACViking

    Re: Timing of Coaching Hires — This Year’s Final 4

    Ravens: Hired John Harbaugh on 01/18/08

    Patriots: Hired Bill Belichick on 01/27/00**
    ** The Patriots actually hired Belichick 30 days earlier, but the Jets contended he was under contract as its head coach. After a full 30 days of negotiating with the Jets, and monitoring Belichick’s own lawsuit, the Pats finally secured the right to hire Belichick as head coach for a 2001 1st-Rd pick plus several lower-round picks.

    Falcons: Hired Mike Smith on 01/23/08

    49ers: Hired Jim Harbaugh on 01/07/11

  • BlindChow

    Maybe they’re looking for Bradley’s Offensive Coordinator.