Back when the Eagles fired Andy Reid three years ago, there was a lot of speculation about who would take over..as there was with the other seven teams looking for new Head Coaches. But one man who somehow fell through the lists of possible coaches was current Cardinals Coach Bruce Arians.
According to Zach Berman it turns out that Arians was actually scheduled to have an interview in Philadelphia back in 2013 before the Eagles cancelled it upon discovering he was interviewing with the Bears..assuming he would get the job. The birds went on to interview a dozen people before settling on Chip Kelly.
Eagles cancelled their interview with Arians in 2013 when Arians interviewed with Bears. He thought he would get the Chicago job.
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) December 16, 2015
Arians was named coach of the year after filling in for Chuck Pagano in Indianapolis whilst Chuck underwent treatment for Leukemia and was reportedly interested in the Eagles job.
“Philly is like home” Arians said earlier today, alluding to his roots in PA before referencing the Temple Owls recent run of good form.
A large drawback for the Eagles might well have been his age. Arians was just getting into his 60’s at the time and with the trend of younger Coaches coming in for the long haul it wouldn’t be surprising if that did play a factor..but there’s one team who overlooked that.
Things didn’t work out too badly for Arians, who went on to win coach of the year again in 2014 with the Cardinals. His team now sit 11-2 with one of the most dangerous receiving cores in the league and a Defense that lead the league in blitzing.
Arians also had some interesting views on what Kelly does Offensively. According to this report on philly.com, he stated the following at the scouting combine last year:
“They hold up a card on the sideline, the Quarterback kicks his foot and throws the ball. That ain’t playing Quarterback, there’s no leadership involved there.”
However his opinion on Sam Bradford is just as high as Chip Kelly’s it would seem..
Arians reiterated what he said in March, that he had Bradford as one of highest-rated QBs ever. He's seen him get comfortable lately.
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) December 16, 2015
It does make you think about what could have been if Arians somehow got the job in Philly. Someone who has his roots in the city would easily win the fans over and with his experience in just about every kind of Offense going it would have been an interesting choice..would Bradford still have ended up in Philly? Would the Eagles be 11-2 right now? Who knows?
All we know is, the Eagles brushed Arians aside once finding out he would be interviewing for the Chicago job..and went on to sign Chip Kelly.
