Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Let’s Talk About AJ

Posted February 8th, 2026 | 3 Comments »

AJ Brown is a great player. He’s also become a complicated subject for discussion. Brown had a disappointing season on the field and generated a lot of drama off the field. That’s not ideal. It is fair to question whether he wants to remain in Philly and also if the Eagles want him to stay.

I’m sure the organization would love to keep the guy from 2022-2024. He was one of the best receivers in the league. I don’t think the team would want the guy from last year coming back.

What about AJ?

A lot of people listened to those comments and got excited. AJ said all the right things. I can see why that would get people to feel encouraged about his return.

On the other hand, I have a hard time ignoring what we saw and heard from September to January. AJ seemed like a very disgruntled player throughout the season. Maybe the frustrating season got the best of him. Maybe some time away has given him good perspective and he’s got a clear head now. I would love to think that’s the case.

The skeptic in me sees that video and doesn’t fully buy it. Those comments have a feel of someone saying the right things for PR purposes. So why would he do that? If AJ wants out of Philly, he would want to go somewhere good. The Eagles would have more trade partners if teams think AJ isn’t a headcase. Players with baggage are harder to deal. AJ helps his situation by doing and saying the right things.

Some of you wonder if the Eagles can even trade AJ. Jimmy Bama wrote a good piece on that previously. There is a lot of money involved so obviously it isn’t a simple situation. The easiest thing for the Eagles would be to keep AJ. No question about that. Jimmy also wrote a piece explaining why he thinks AJ will be dealt.

Howie Roseman talked about wanting to keep AJ around. As he pointed out, you want to get great players. You don’t want to lose them. But Howie knows that’s a two-way street. Players have to want to be in Philly. When other guys have pushed to get out, Howie was able to deal them and let them have a fresh start somewhere else.

I think one of the real complications here is trying to understand what would make AJ happy. He’s been to a pair of Super Bowls and won one of them in Philly. He’s been to a couple of Pro Bowls. He was second team All Pro twice. Brown has had nothing but success as an individual and as part of a team while an Eagle. So what is he missing?

My guess is that he sees gaudy numbers being put up by other receivers around the league and it bothers him. Puka Nacua, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ja’Marr Chase, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Chris Olave all caught 100 or more passes. George Pickens went to Dallas and caught 93 passes. He became a big star. AJ likely feels he’s as good or better than all of these guys and should be posting similar numbers.

The problem is that the Eagles were 24th and 32nd in passing attempts over the past two seasons. AJ has to share catches with DeVonta Smith. Even with a new offense in 2026, I don’t know that the Eagles will be a primarily passing offense. AJ did have 106 catches in 2023 so maybe the coaches can sell him on a vision where he gets back to that level.

AJ Brown was one of my favorite players before he even got to the Eagles. I love tough, physical receivers. I loved watching Irving Fryar in the mid-90’s. I always dreamed of Anquan Boldin as an Eagle. I was ecstatic when they traded for AJ. I finally got a tough guy and not just a speedster. I would love nothing more than to see him finish his career as an Eagle.

Unfortunately neither the Eagles nor AJ is overly concerned with my feelings. He is trying to figure out what he wants. The team is trying to figure out how they can put together the best roster possible. You would think they would invite me to town for a summit, where we ate cheesesteaks and worked on a solution that also included what I want. At least I can watch this and be happy.

If I had to bet a paycheck, I’d bet that AJ gets traded. I guess one good thing is that Howie has done a good job of managing complicated situations over the years. If anyone can find a way to make this work, it could be him, probably with some help from Big Dom.

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I can’t say I’m overly excited for the Super Bowl. I’ve never cared for Seattle and haven’t cared for the Pats for a long time. I guess I’ll pull for Seattle. They are an NFC team and the Pats already have enough friggin trophies. Plus it would probably drive Rams and Niners fans to see them win. It would also be a bit torturous for Vikings fans to see Sam Darnold holding the Lombardi Trophy after they let him go.

Seattle is the better team, but NE has handled the postseason better than I imagined. Never count out a Mike Vrabel team.

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Getting Coordinated

Posted February 6th, 2026 | 4 Comments »

When Jeff Stoutland stepped away from the Eagles this week he created two openings. The Eagles need to replace him as the OL coach and also as the run game coordinator. They took care of the RGC part on Thursday.

Mahaffey is another young coach to add to the offensive mix. He worked with Sean Mannion in Green Bay so they should be on the same page in terms of scheme and how they want it run. One of the goals of the offensive change is to have a cohesive scheme, where the pass and run games work together seamlessly.

Mahaffey played TE in college and then some fullback in a short NFL career. He has been a TEs coach at the college level. He assisted with the Packers OL in 2022 and 2023 before becoming the WRs coach the last two seasons.

Jason Michael was the TEs coach for the Eagles over the past five years, and Nick Sirianni always spoke very highly of him. Maybe Michael is a good coach, but you sure wouldn’t know it from his time in Philly. The highlight of his resume would be turning Jack Stoll from a UDFA into a solid #3 TE. That’s not going to get you a lot of jobs.

TE has been an issue since Zach Ertz left. He and Dallas Goedert were a good duo, but the Eagles have struggled to find and develop players since then. Howie Roseman gave Michael a handful of different guys to work with and none panned out. They weren’t great players mind you, but finding TEs is something almost every team can do. The Eagles failure to put anyone good with Goedert is hard to believe. There are more than a few teams with three good TEs. The Eagles haven’t been able to find or develop good depth.

I think Mahaffey will have better luck with the TEs. I’m not sure how it could get worse. The Packers had good TEs in recent years. While Mahaffey didn’t coach them directly, he should have worked with them while he was an assisting with the OL. He also would have spent time with them in offensive meetings and practices. Mahaffey should know what he’s looking for out of the position. Let’s hope the Eagles give him some good resources to work with. They must improve the TE position.

As for the run game, Mahaffey was the offensive coordinator for Northern Iowa so he’s got a feel for gameplans and play-calling. In the NFL the RGC will work with the OC to build gameplans and then make suggestions on gameday. Mahaffey has the background to handle that role and the scheme familiarity to work well with Mannion.

Only time will tell if the move works, but I like the thinking behind it. The Eagles are building an offensive staff that should have a good understanding of what they’re trying to get done. They are also coaches who have experience working together. That can help the staff come together quickly, which is important for a team that wants to compete for Super Bowls.

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No update on the OL coach opening. I’m guessing we won’t find out anything until Monday. The NFL doesn’t like distractions before the Super Bowl.

The Eagles wanted Stoutland to stay as the OL coach, but I’m sure they understood they could lose him. That makes me think they’ve got ideas on who they might want to hire. Obviously they are giving Mannion a lot of say in building the offensive staff so we’ll have to see who he likes.

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We found out the Eagles will be losing a member of the defensive staff.

Yelk is a young coach who was working toward becoming a position coach in the future. Now he gets that role at the college level. Good for him and good luck to him.

I posted a tweet in the last post about veteran coach Frank Bush joining the staff. Oops. Apparently he’ll be going to the Giants instead. He makes more sense on that staff.

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Jeff McLane reported that Landon Dickerson is considering retirement. I’ll write about this and the OL situation in a separate post. That’s a long topic.

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It may seem like there is a lot of negativity around the Eagles right now. Do yourself a favor and watch ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary on The Philly Special. It is excellent and will definitely put a big smile on your face.

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