The decision to sign Doug Pederson was questioned by just about everyone regardless of their view on the situation and with news of the new Eagles Head Coach having his eyes set on both Reich and Steve Spagnuolo, it begs the question..what’s going on in Philadelphia? Well one theory has it all centering around one man..Sam Bradford.
As most will be aware, Sam Bradford is set to become a Free Agent after playing out his rookie contract and after weeks of concern and people calling for Sanchez early on, the former number one overall pick exploded in the final weeks of the 2015 campaign to make firm case for his future in Philadelphia. But after Chip was fired, a guy who saw a lot of potential in Bradford, all of that was called into question.
Bradford himself claimed that the coaching decision will impact how much he wants to stay and it’s clear that he has a great partnership with Pat Shurmur who also worked with Bradford during his rookie season in St Louis.
Over the past few days the Eagles have supposedly signed Flajole, the former Rams Defensive Coordinator and have been in contact with Jim Schwartz whilst reports earlier today suggested Pederson has Spags and Reich listed as his top choices for OC and DC.
The two conclusions for this are
- Billy Davis is most likely going to be leaving Philadelphia
- The Eagles could well be overcrowded in the coaching department soon
Or are they? Because something people are forgetting is that Chip Kelly is pursuing both his QB Coach Ryan Day and WR coach Bob Bicknell from his time in Philadelphia. Now the signing of both is unconfirmed as of right now..but Chip may have inadvertantly given the Eagles the best scenario possible.
With a potential vacancy at the QB coach position, who internally could fill the shoes of Ryan Day? Who on the Eagles list of staff was a previous QB coach at the team? Who on the staff also worked with Sam Bradford and has a great rapport with him?
Pat Shurmur.
It’s unclear whether or not Shurmur would take “a demotion” but if the Eagles can convince Shurmur to become the teams new Quarterback coach in the event Ryan Day does leave then it’s only going to sweeten the deal for Sam Bradford who will be working with someone he’s familiar with, has a lot of respect for and who understands him. Bradford has already spoken about how he doesn’t like having to keep adjusting to different situations in the off-season and Shurmur could well be the constant that Sammy B needs.
If the Eagles are renovating their front office, who’s to say that Chip Kelly hasn’t just acted as the catalyst in the process by removing their QB coach? By giving that position to Shurmur it not only gives familiarity and another reason to stay for Bradford but it also gives Pederson a level of comfort. Why?
Because he could well end up having free choice over who signs as both OC and DC (something that’s already happening). By allowing Pederson to add two vital figures to the team or at least have a strong say in the hirings, it allows him to build the shape of the Eagles future in the way that he envisions..and it also gives Sammy B an incentive to stay under Pat Shurmur…it all makes sense, but will it happen?
