The Eagles are walking into familiar territory. Their search for a new Head Coach is one that reeks of desperation. Doug Pederson wasn’t the only coach who packed his bags. The offensive coordinator ‘dream team’ was disassembled and left the Eagles needing to completely rebuild their offensive staff. But despite an encouraging array of candidates being targeted, there’s a strange sense of familiarity.
We all remember the Doug Pederson hiring. At the time, the Eagles reportedly had their sights set on Adam Gase (luckily that didn’t pan out). Pederson was promptly hired after Gase was signed by the Miami Dolphins, and the rest was history.
Ironically enough, both Pederson and Gase are out of a job, although the former Eagles Head Coach should be better positioned to find a new home first while Adam Gase will probably be tracking live football odds on Sports Betting Dime. Green Bay at -6.5 and Baltimore at +2.5 are some stand out spreads you can see there.
Before the hiring, Jeffrey Lurie made it clear that although for very different reasons, he wanted to ensure he gets back to the glory days once held under Andy Reid. Pederson was the perfect man for that in his opinion.
As a former quarterback and later QB coach with the team under Andy Reid, he followed Big Red to Kansas City where he rose to the offensive coordinator role. Many doubted the experience of Pederson and his lack of play-calling, but Reid stated he had been calling the second halves of games during the latter half of the 2015 season, and that it wasn’t a concern.
If we fast forward six whole seasons, we’re back at square one. Although he can’t interview due to playoff obligations, Chiefs QB Coach Mike Kafka is a consideration for the team. Kafka was drafted by the Eagles in 2011 under Andy Reid and is now working under him in Kansas City, although he may be among the least experienced candidates for the role.
Sound familiar?
Eric Bieniemy’s case is a little less ‘Eagles-tied’ but he’s still been thriving under Andy Reid as the team’s offensive coordinator.
It’s not so much these names that are the concern. The Eagles interviewed 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh yesterday, who has already undergone two with the Jets. If Saleh is their main target and they miss out, the clock will be ticking and candidates slipping away, which could well lead the Eagles back to Kansas City in an attempt to kick the conveyor belt for another run.
The Eagles cannot expect anything to change if they keep repeating the same formula, and that goes beyond the Head Coaching search. We reported earlier this year that the micromanaging implemented by Roseman and Lurie has been damaging to the team, and that was also verified today in the way of a similar report from Howard Eskin. The source in Chris Infante’s report stated that Pederson’s relationship with Howie Roseman was ‘Grigson/Pagano-like’.
The Colts famously went through a very bad relationship between their GM and their head coach and it was something that the Eagles heartbreakingly mirrored.
Regardless of who the Eagles hire, if the front office and above continue to pressure the Coach into decisions, then nothing will truly change and the cycle will just repeat.
It’s down to Jeffrey Lurie to realize that you can’t move forward if the aim is to replicate the past. Whether thats in the way of a hire, or his own actions, the Eagles need change, not more of the same.
Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire
