With Chip Kelly out of Philadelphia, the speculation has already begun over who is going to take over the reigns in Philadelphia. Sean Payton’s name has been a common occurrence in early reports with many speculating he may be ready to leave New Orleans after ten years in charge of the Saints..especially considering that the team will be essentially in a transitional period when you take the long term future of Drew Brees into account.
Whilst it’s by no means certain that Payton is going to leave New Orleans and Drew Brees himself seems confident that the pair will stay, he could be the perfect man to coach the Eagles? Why? Sam Bradford.
Now Kelly is out of the picture, the future of Sam Bradford seems clouded to say the least. His rookie contract expires at the end of this season and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if the new coach didn’t want to retain him and bring in one of their own pieces.
But look at what Payton has done with Drew Brees. A now SuperBowl winning Quarterback has evolved into one of the most elite pocket passers in the business and whilst he may be getting older, he can still throw dimes with the best of them,
Sam Bradford has played extremely well this season when you take every other factor into account. The 40 drops, the insane amount of pressure he has had to deal with, the lack of running game and not playing a game for close to a year..somehow Bradford has still thrown the most yards of any Eagles Quarterback since McNabb in 2009.
Even with those 40 drops, Bradford is the third most accurate Quarterback in the NFL this season..that says a lot and on paper would be the perfect man for Sean Payton to coach.
It’s clear Bradford isn’t cut out for an Offense that favours mobility..but who’s to say he might not find a new home in New Orleans to replace Brees when he eventually retires?! Who’s to say that if he stays in Philadelphia he wont glow in a new system? That with an upgraded Offensive Line he can’t become one of the best in the business?! They share the same fundamentals and whilst not as vocal, Bradford has grown in a leadership sense massively this season.
Interestingly, Payton himself spoke very highly of Bradford before their week five showdown.
“He’s a quick decision maker and he’s accurate,” said the Saints head coach. “I think he’s tough to sack. The ball comes out. I also think he’s a winner. The thing that draws you to him is he’s won a lot of games.”
That’s no lie. In Bradford’s last nine starts he has a 6-3 record.
“He’s kind of got that poise in the pocket that you look for. There’s a toughness to him. Those are the things that come to mind.”
Payton has developed a legend in Drew Brees and if somehow he does find his way to Philadelphia…there’s a much younger talent in Sam Bradford who has displayed the same traits needed to evolve into an elite pocket passer..the perfect project for a coach such as Payton.
