Sunday is traditionally a day of rest unless you work for the Philadelphia Eagles. In which case, crack open a case of Red Bull and make as many moves as you can in 12 hours. In case you missed any, here’s a recap of everything to come out of the NovaCare Complex.
Should I stay or should I go?
For Duce Staley, the answer seems to be the latter. According to NBC’s John Clark, the Assistant Head Coach of the Eagles wants out of Philadelphia and it’s hard to really blame him.
Staley has been with the Eagles as a coach since 2011 and worked his way up to the position of running back coach, a position he has now held for over 8 years. Despite constant recommendations from his players, Staley has failed to break through what appears to be a glass ceiling that’s holding him back from promotion to an offensive coordinator role or a head coaching position.
Other teams have shown interest before and it’s hard to imagine he’d be on the market long once his contract does expire. It’s hard to imagine the Eagles would cut the deal short, but they may decide to do what’s best for Staley since they weren’t able to do that in terms of promotion. It’s the least they could do, as heartbreaking as it is.
As for Jeff Stoutland, he’ll remain in Philadelphia, per Albert Breer. Another coach who has stood the test of time, Stoutland is responsible for some of the leagues’ most explosive OL talent and they’re all in Philadelphia. Lane Johnson, Jason Kelce, Jason Peters, and Brandon Brooks have all thrived under his guidance, while names like Evan Mathis left glowing reviews.
Stout has also helped guys like Jordan Mailata come on leaps and bounds during his time in Philly, and knowing that he’s willing to work under a new Head Coach, who also wants to work with him, is huge for the continued growth of the position.
Walk away as the Dorsey slams
Well, that was short-lived. John Dorsey, who joined the Eagles front office at some point in the last year (with reports hinting at his help during the 2020 Draft but nothing official coming out until December), will be joining the Detroit Lions. He was thought to be Roseman’s right-hand man to keep him moving in the right direction after a slew of bad offseasons. That will no longer be the case.
It will be interesting to see if the Eagles hire someone else to be Roseman’s new assistant, or whether they’ll let him go solo. Given Lurie’s confidence in him, it’s not hard to imagine that they’ll let him do his thing, although Joe Douglas and Andrew Berry preceded Dorsey in this role, so who knows?
Eagles do the thing…again
Do you want to see ANOTHER Colts coach join the Eagles? Well, consider this your lucky day! Kevin Patullo will be the third Indy coach making the trip to Philadelphia this offseason, signing with the team as a passing game coordinator, according to Tom Pelissero, who at this point might as well be in the room when these things happen. Is he a coach? I don’t know.
Patullo worked as the Colts’ wide receivers coach between 2018-2020 after a short stint with Texas A&M as a senior offensive analyst. Prior to that, he worked with the Jets as a QB coach and the Titans as a WR coach after a few assistant tenures with other teams.
Frank Reich reportedly had glowing praise for Patullo’s knowledge of the RPO game (Hat-tip Bleeding Green Nation) according to an ESPN story last year.
If you’re not onboard yet, all you need to know is this: Press Taylor is the current passing game coordinator. The size of this dub is incomprehensible.
Another Eagles hire
The Eagles are also expected to hire Auburn’s defensive line coach Tracy Rocker, according to Pete Thamel. Rocker would replace Matt Burke, who will also not be named as the teams’ defensive coordinator. Maybe this isn’t the most puzzling two weeks in Eagles history after all?
Rocker has a ton of collegiate experience as a coach since making the leap in 1994 but has been with the Vols since 2017, meaning that he just missed spending time with Derek Barnett. Now I’m sad.
Players he has worked with include Trent Cole, DeMarcus Ware, and, Osi Umenyiora (who know presents NFL coverage in England), and Greg Hardy (sigh).
This move is an interesting one because it means Matt Burke’s future is now up in the air. The Eagles DL is coming off of a ferocious season and it’s not like ranking 4th in sacks is anything to sniff at. This is the third coaching change at the position in as many years after Phillip Daniels was also confusingly let go. Hm.
Okay, now you can catch your breath and go and enjoy a delightful AFC Championship game.
Photo by Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire
