In 2016, Doug Pederson was surprisingly hired by Owner Jeffery Lurie. Unlike other head coaches around the league, Pederson was not allowed to pick his own staff when he joined the team. Looking back, that staff in 2016 was full of future Head Coaches and OC’s. Yet when you have a star-studded cast of personnel evaluators and coaches, there is going to be turnover. In the Eagles case since 2016: lots of it.
Here is the list of personnel evaluators and coaches from 2016.
- GM: Howie Roseman
- VP Player Personnel: Joe Douglas
- VP Football Operations: Alec Halaby
- Head Coach: Doug Pederson
- OC: Frank Reich
- DC: Jim Schwartz
- Special Teams Coordinator: Davie Fipp
- QB Coach: John DeFilippo
- RB Coach: Duce Staley
- WR Coach: Greg Lewis
- DL Coach: Chris Wilson
- LB Coach: Ken Flajole
- Secondary Coach: Cory Undlin
This staff built a roster of pro-bowl players, and a year later: a Super Bowl championship. The staff, again, not picked by Doug Pederson. Fast forward to 2020: here is what the staff looks like to this point.
- GM- Howie Roseman
- VP Player Personnel: Andy Weidl (former Ass. to VP of Player Personnel)
- VP Football Operations: Andrew Berry (former Browns VPPP)
- Head Coach: Doug Pederson
- OC: OPEN (Mike Groh fired after two years)
- DC: Jim Schwartz
- Special Teams Coordinator: Dave Fipp
- QB Coach: Press Taylor
- RB Coach: Duce Staley
- WR Coach: OPEN (Carson Walch fired after one year)
- DL Coach: OPEN (Phillip Daniels fired after one year)
- LB Coach: Ken Flajole
- Secondary Coach: OPEN (Cory Undlin left for DC in Detroit)
As you can see: a lot of changes. Since 2016, the Eagles have just six coaches/executives who have stayed the entire four years in their specific role. It gets even crazier when you see where the executives and coaches are who have left Philadelphia.
- Joe Douglas – now GM of the New York Jets
- Andrew Berry– interviewing for GM role with Browns/Panthers
- Frank Reich– Head Coach of the Indianapolis Colts
- John DeFilippo– QB Coach of the Chicago Bear, 2x OC since leaving
- Mike Groh/Carson Walch/Greg Lewis/Gunter Brewer– four receiving coaches in four years
- Chris Wilson– Defensive Assistant for Arizona Cardinals
- Cory Undlin: Defensive Coordinator of the Detroit Lions
Most Super Bowl-winning teams go through a loss of “brain power”- executives and coaches leaving for higher jobs. In 2017 and 2018 the Patriots lost both Matt Patricia and Brian Flores in back to back years. Yet their main coaching ranks stayed the same- Bill Belichick and Offensive Coordinator, Josh McDaniels, stayed. The Eagles, on the other hand, have lost 11 different coaches and executives since their Super Bowl win in 2017.
Losing the many of the brain trust from 2017 hasn’t killed the organization though. The Eagles have made the playoffs in three consecutive years. Despite that, two 9-7 seasons that came to be because of late-season runs, has made some to question much of the coaching staff.
The Eagles go into the offseason needing to fill four coaching positions (OC, QB Coach, DL and DB Coach). If Andrew Berry leaves for either Cleveland or Carolina, it becomes five. A tendency from the past few years is to hire from within. That’s how Mike Groh became OC after Frank Reich left, and how Phillip Daniels became defensive line coach. Those coaches are now gone.
For the first time, Doug Pederson has the final decision on who gets to be hired for the Philadelphia Eagles coaching staff. While Doug Pederson’s work as a play-caller and locker room anchor has been fantastic since he was hired, this is the first chance that we get to see him in a new role: the face of the Philadelphia Eagles decision-making process.
Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
