By now you’ve heard it all. The rumors, the interview requests, and the surprise candidates. It seems that every time the Eagles and owner Jeffrey Lurie are in a position to make a move that could help the franchise going forward, the inverse happens.
Take last year for example. They had the opportunity of drafting Justin Jefferson but passed on him for Jalen Reagor based on the premise that he would be a better fit. They also had a chance to draft Jeremy Chinn, but oddly chose quarterback Jalen Hurts instead.
Once upon a time, Jeffery Lurie and the Eagles brass made a bold move to hire a young brilliant offensive mind in Andy Reid. They, unfortunately, let Andy go after his worst season during his coaching tenure in Philadelphia back in 2012, a 4-12 campaign. After letting Andy go, the Eagles focused on making Chip Kelly the next man to take the mantle of head coach. The rest of that era doesn’t need explaining…
Shortly after, the Eagles hired Doug Pederson. He wasn’t the young stud that all the teams wanted or the offensive guru that others were fighting over. He was just Doug Pederson but that’s all he needed to be. Lurie craved ’emotional intelligence’ to help heal the wounds left by Kelly, and as a former Eagles QB and Andy Reid protege, the move was only logical.
Players loved the fact that Pederson enabled them to be true to themselves and let their personalities shine. Pederson eventually led the Eagles to their first-ever Super Bowl victory, but as the desperation to maintain that level of success and avoid the dreaded hangover set in, a disconnect started to grow more and more apparent.
A lot has changed since the end of that 2015 season. Jeffrey Lurie was once the man who stood up for his players in times of turmoil, giving out the iconic ’53 angry men’ T-shirts to rally the troops in a time of need. The man who has preached accountability for the better part of 8 years, is oddly refusing to live by his own code.
The moment that Jeffrey Lurie wanted Doug to be someone else was the beginning of the end for the Super Bowl-winning head coach. Just like how they almost ruined the career of Carson Wentz through a string of bad decisions and a desire to put his daredevil tendencies to bed.
The Eagles are at crossroads right now that could either lead to a higher plateau or be the beginning of a tremendous downfall. With the coaching search nearing an end, there’s one name that has been heavily spoken about and that name is Josh McDaniels.
McDaniels has enjoyed tremendous success with the Patriots offense over the years, but is the same guy who raved about himself to Jay Cutler before completely ripping his QB and trading him away. That’s not exactly the type of coach who looks primed to help get Carson Wentz back to his best.
Forget the rumors about Carson Wentz and his ego. Forget about the cap situation. This next move will send ripple effects across the entire timeline of the Philadelphia Eagles. Jeffrey Lurie wants a coach that will be hard on his guys but remains emotionally intelligent. McDaniels covers the one but is far from the other, a trend among former Patriots coaches (CC: Matt Patricia).
If McDaniels is the guy then so be it, but let’s make one thing clear: This hiring isn’t a move that will help the Eagles in any way. This is a move that will only help an owner who struggles to make a move and be at peace with it before interjecting and moving pieces around. It’s tough for him to pay players and coaches to win. Lurie is trying to play micromanage in the middle of this ecosystem and it’s brewing a catastrophic storm. If McDaniels is the guy, we may begin to see the eye of it.
Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire
