Reports are beginning to trickle down concerning the Eagles plans to shake-up their coaching staff. Said to be finalized this week, the Birds’ still have to find a new WR coach and offensive coordinator, while Matt Burke appears to be the man who will take over defensive line responsibilities.
Two new rumors surfaced today that cite an internal hire and two new names added into the mix…but what does it all mean?
Press Taylor
The possibility of avoiding hiring a new offensive coordinator altogether is growing increasingly large. If the Eagles’ current QB coach becomes the passing-game coordinator, it would somewhat negate the need for an OC knowing that there’s already a run-game coordinator in place. This could also be an insurance policy in case they don’t get the names they wanted.
But there are reasons to be concerned. We know for a fact that internal hires are beginning to wear thin, with the entire premise behind the Groh firing being that ‘outside influence’ was highly needed after the offense grew stale. Taylor may be a budding coordinator himself, but are we just going to see more of the same?
The other thing to bear in mind is that it’s not like Wentz took a significant step forward under Taylor. Their relationship has always been painted to be golden, but issues like the constant fumbles and poor decisions when protecting the ball are more then coachable but remained just as prominent in 2019.
If the Eagles aren’t going to hire an OC for the time being, this does seem like a strong band-aid…but is it strong enough?
The new guys
Scangarello is an intriguing name. He spent last year as the Broncos offensive coordinator but it was very much a tale of two halves. The first was an offense filled with pre-snap motion and using a lot of deception to open up the playbook. Sexy. The other half was bad playcalling that led to numerous players (including star running back Phillip Lindsay) throwing him under the bus. Not sexy.
The good news is that Scangarello wouldn’t be expected to call plays and prior to his stint in Denver (where the offense ranked 28th in the NFL in Yards per game), he spent two years as the QB coach for San Francisco.
If Scangarello is bought in to essentially mentor Press Taylor then this can’t be a bad thing at all. You can definitely make the argument that the Broncos offense was held back by Joe Flacco and if his offensive philosophy really does bring a lot of mystery, then injecting that and molding a coordinator makes sense.
The third name here is Andrew Breiner, who coordinated Mississippi State’s passing game, where names like Tommy Stevens did ‘okay’ under his guidance.
However, what is interesting to note is that during his first season at MSU, he helped Nick Fitzgerald lead the FBS in 100+ rushing yard games by QB’s. We know the Eagles now have an emphasis on getting Wentz into open space and perhaps this kind of mentality can only aid that new plan.
It appears as though the Eagles are adopting a ‘coordinator by committee’ approach. It’s not a bad move, especially if they couldn’t bring in the big-name they wanted. But is it the right move? Only time will tell, and we’ll get a clearer indication when the moves are confirmed.
Mandatory Photo Credit: AP Photo/David Zalubowsk
