In the closing moments of 2015, Eagles fans were met with the news that Chip Kelly has been relieved of his duties as Head Coach. A press conference from owner Jeffery Lurie reassured fans that he would not only essentially be looking for a binary opposite of Chip to coach the Eagles but that the reason he was fired so hastily was to get a leg up on all other teams who could well be facing the same scenario after black Monday. Well black Monday has been and gone and with it a further week and a half…and the situation is the same, if not worse..in fact it’s definitely worse.
The Eagles spent little time in beginning the search for Chips replacement by interviewing Adam Gase on Tuesday with Shurmur interviewing 24 hours beforehand. The interview with Gase was rumoured to last eight hours which can surely only mean good things? Well following the interview there were rumours of a second interview being scheduled in Philadelphia…and days later, he was hired by the Miami Dolphins.
Doubts already began to surface about the procedure as if it was Gase that the Eagles fired Chip so urgently to pursue then it may have backfired. So it was onto the next one for the birds and of the three who went on to interview, two were involved with the Giants last season and one has been working alongside Andy Reid’s hard charging Chiefs. Have they hired anyone? No.
The most recent blow to fans at least came in the form of Hue Jackson being hired by Cleveland. Jackson was seen to be a number one target..but not Philadelphia. Why? It’s hard to find a reason at this stage but his desire for control of a team..something Philadelphia would be unlikely to relinquish after Chip’s era is definitely one that springs to mind. However you have to feel like Howie Roseman has had some sort of say in the interview process to this point.
To put the icing on what is already becoming a very poisonous cake, the Eagles are reportedly stopping the interview process..which means they are technically left with five interviewed candidates. Whilst a call for Hue Jackson took place recently according to reports, no interview surfaced.
Time is ticking and vacancies are closing which means the remaining candidates the Eagles have already interviewed are only going to climb higher and higher on teams lists.
Many Eagles fans are still wondering why there hasn’t been an interview reachout for Sean McDermott after he openly stated he was interested. He’s currently on a bye week which means he can technically interview with other teams, yet the Eagles are reluctant to put in a move for their former coach who has gone on to lead the Carolina Defense to great things.
The decision to fire Chip Kelly is still a questionable one but a move that was likely to happen regardless of the timing. But if the motivation behind the firing was to get a jumpstart on the other teams who are likely to be searching, that has failed miserably. The one coach they interviewed before anyone else walked out after eight hours and later signed for Miami and the Eagles list of potential replacements is growing shorter by the day.
Shurmur may be the best decision for the Eagles from a fans perspective but if the front office are looking elsewhere they have to move swiftly and assertively. Coughlin and McAdoo won’t be on the market for long and the reasoning/ “excuses” behind the firing are drying up.
There’s no timeline on how long this search is going to last but if it is set to last at least another week then there is no telling how minimal the Eagles options are going to become..and if that happens they may have shot themselves in the foot without realising it..
