As first reported by Mike Kaye of NJ.com, the Philadelphia Eagles are hiring Nick Rallis as the team’s new Linebackers Coach. Rallis was previously with the Minnesota Vikings as their assistant linebackers coach and their defensive quality control coach in 2020.
Nick Rallis is entering his fifth season as a coach in the NFL but this will be his first season on a team not named the Vikings. The 27-year-old (younger than Darius Slay) played college ball at the University of Minnesota from 2012-2016 then spent the 2017 season as a graduate assistant at Wake Forest.
He will be taking over a role coaching the position that has been the most undervalued by the Eagles front office in recent years but is coming from an organization that has played host a solid linebacker corps for quite some time now. According to the Vikings, Rallis played an important role in Eric Kendricks’ career year back in 2019.
That season, Kendricks earned first-team All-Pro honors and went to his first pro bowl. Eric Kendricks was the highest-graded Linebacker in 2019 by PFF with a grade of 90.5.
Nick will have his hands full with the Eagles linebackers as he’ll be responsible for the growth of Alex Singleton and TJ Edwards. Singleton had a career year after he became a starter due to the season-ending injury of Nate Gerry. The former CFL standout recorded 120 tackles last season with 7 QB hits, 5 tackles for loss, 2 fumble recoveries, and one pick-six.
Outside of Edwards and Singleton, the Eagles depth at linebacker isn’t comforting for even the most casual fan. Bradley only played 7% of the snaps last season and fellow rookie, Davion Taylor, was just as big of a question as JJ Arcega-Whiteside.
Nick is joining a very young staff that has its sights focused on creating a competitive culture out on South Philly. After seeing the production by the Vikings’ LB’s over the years, it looks like the Eagles’ young LB’s might be in good hands going forward.
David Berding/Icon Sportswire
