Just four days after the Andy Reid era finally came to an end, the search for a new head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles is beginning to get interesting.
Earlier today, Anthony Gargano of 94 WIP reported that (contrary to popular belief), Oregon head coach Chip Kelly was not the Eagles’ top target, and that while the team will interview him, they expect him to go elsewhere. Gargano also reported that the Eagles’ primary target was Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien, but that prospect has faded with O’Brien committing taking himself out of the running for NFL positions by announcing he is committed to Penn State.
The news that transpired today leaves the Eagles’ future shrouded in uncertainty. With O’Brien out of the picture, and the idea that Kelly was the team’s top choice put to rest, Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman will be expanding their search to wide variety of candidates, waiting for one of the men that they interview in the coming weeks to blow them away.
The Eagles will interview Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy over the weekend, and have also received permission from the Indianapolis Colts to interview offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, and the Seattle Seahawks to talk to their defensive coordinator Gus Bradley.
Each of these three candidates are intriguing options.
McCoy’s claim to fame has been his ability to successfully adjust his offense to whatever talent he is given to work with. He’s gotten tremendous production out of mediocre quarterbacks like Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow, and this year he played a major role in helping Peyton Manning enjoy an MVP-caliber season in his first year with Denver. McCoy has stated that he only wants to leave Denver if he can land into the “right situation”.
Arians has been one of the great stories of the 2012 NFL season for the role he’s played in helping the Colts go from the worst record in the league to a playoff-caliber team. He’s also been an important figure in recent years as the offensive coordinator of the Steelers, and without him the Pittsburgh offense has really fallen apart. While I think Arians is capable of doing a good job for the Eagles, his profile doesn’t exactly fit what the Eagles are looking for. Arians is older and may have hit his ceiling as a professional coach and Jeffrey Lurie wants to find the next Andy Reid; a young up-and-coming, innovative coach that could potentially coach in Philadelphia as long as Reid did.
Bradley is the most interesting name that has come up on the Eagles’ list to date. He’s been the architect on an excellent Seattle defense, a unit that has been the anchor of the team’s success. Seattle leads the league in the scoring, and also plays the run exceptionally well. Bradley has helped inject a toughness into that group that has helped make them such a successful defense, and toughness is something that the Philadelphia defense has completely and utterly lacked since Jim Johnson passed away. Bradley’s name hasn’t received attention from other franchises with coaching vacancies, and his hire would certainly fit the bill as an innovative, bold, “outside the box” type of move that Lurie and his front office like to make. It’s also surprising to see Lurie go after a defensive-minded candidate after he’s made it clear that he prefers offense to be his team’s strength.
Personally, I’m very relieved to hear that Chip Kelly is likely out of the picture and on his way to Cleveland. I think Kelly has a chance to be a good NFL coach, but I’d prefer the Eagles to bring someone in who has achieved some level of success in the NFL rather than gamble on a college coach. I’m also very encouraged by the fact that Lurie is willing to give defensive-minded coaches an opportunity to impress him. I’d love for the next head coach to be a strong defensive mind that could potentially quickly turn around what has been a soft, embarrassing unit for the last few years.
We’ll see what direction the Eagles’ coaching search goes in. Will the Eagles end up hiring one of these three coaches, or will another name not currently on this list emerge?
Search has only begun Denny
Fangio, Roman and Seeley from the 49ers are all worth Candidates
As well as Clements and Moss from the Packers as are Zimmer & Jay Gruden
From the Bengals
I believe the Eagles will talk to many Candidates b4 getting a real short list together for more serious discussions
Agreed, I really like Roman a lot and I hope he gets an interview.
Denny, I am sending you my article on “the Eagles need to be more Defensive Minded”. In my opinion Vic Fangio should be the next Eagles head coach, as well as profile some of the other coaching talents in the NFL, that would make strong Candidates for our next Offensive Coordinator. Look for it.
Will do!
BTW, Bill O’Brian would have been perfect for the Eagles, Better than Clements, Moss, Gruden, and Zimmer….
I can’t stand this train of thought that college coaches are risky. People point to the failures of the high profile college coaches as evidence. Guess what, hiring any coach is risky. The list of hot coordinators who failed is numerous too but that never seems to get mentioned.
I liked what Kelly could have brought, but probably not meant to be (certainly not at what the Browns are going to pay him). I’m just glad Koetter is not coming here. My #1 choice is still Jay Gruden but quite frankly I’ll be happy when this process is over.
Any coach is a risk, college or pros. Kelly might come to Cleveland and be a success, but he could just as easily suffer a fate similar to Steve Spurrier.
I agree about Koetter though, I wasn’t interested when I heard the Eagles wanted to interview him. Gruden’s a great choice too, he’s done a great job developing the Bengals’ young offensive talent and helping that team reach the playoffs in back-to-back years.
People point to Spurrier and the evidence suggests that he didn’t get the job done. I still maintain that he could have been more successful in another situation. After all, the multi Super Bowl winning coach after Spurrier didn’t fare well either.
Honestly, I’m not certain any coach would make a difference if they can’t get this personnel selection figured out. What a train wreck.
I think the fact that Spurrier has stayed in the college game after leaving Washington is pretty telling…I think he got enough of a taste of the NFL to realize that he’s at his best in the college game, and he hasn’t so much as pursued an opportunity even as an offensive coordinator in the NFL since going to South Carolina.
And yeah, there’s no doubt that there’s a ton of work to be done here…but I do think that any turnaround in the NFL has got to start with selecting the right head coach.
I believe the Eagles will be one of the last Teams to fill their vacancy
I think Coaches like Wisenhut,, Lovie Smith and other experienced HC’s are not even on their Radar
Coach Marrone from Syracuse does intrigue me though
I wouldn’t be surprised to hear a Kyle Shanahan from the Redskins surface for an interview also..
Or a Chudzinski from the Panthers who is their O/C
And previously worked for the Chargers and since he left San Diego
QB Phillip Rivers has never been the same and has done a nice Job with Cam Newton in his 2 Years with Carolina
Wouldn’t mind McCoy or Bradley. Arians can go kick rocks he would be a disaster. Hopefully they will interview Roman and hey throw some money at David Shaw see if he’s interested.
Jay Gruden & Mike Mccoy are my choices. But this Gus Bradley sounds interesting
Good News Chip Kelly is close to signing with the Browns.. What does that tell us? the Browns aint ever winning squat! so right away Chip Kelly will be a bust.
Roseman and Lurie would be smart to land Bradley…this group of pansies on the roster need an injection of testosterone and to grow some balls!!!!!!!
Why not Charlie Strong of Louisville?
Lurie and Roseman are looking at the obvious….there are better coaches out there…Texas AM Ken Sumlin is a great coach….
Charlie Strong singed and extended his Deal with Louisville a month back
When Auburn/Tennessee were hot after him. I agree and think he will make a good NFL Co h As will O’Brien and Shaw from Stanford but are another 1-2
Years away from making the leap
Gus Bradley is an intriguing name. Look up info on the guy, listen to how his players speak about him. Look at what hes done to that Seattle defense. Aggressive attacking defense. Huge corners who are tough as nails. A ferocious defensive line and good line backers. Hes really coached those guys up. Ive always wanted the birds to go defense over offense ( beensaying Vic Fangio for a year now).. but this is a offensive driven league. All the new QB’s (minus peyton, brady and brees who’ve been doing this for years) can read defenses at a high level but everything is done at the line the days of a huddle are nomore. The huddle will be gone in the next few years. Those guys i mentioned earlier and guys like luck rg3 and wilson are also evidence of this. Were really one of the only teams left that was still running the stale west coast offense which became so predictable. One of the only teams left still running that offense, if thats not stubborness idk what is. But If they go defense they gotta get the right O Coordinator in here. They can’t mess that up, they cant miss on this.
Kelly to Browns is not set in stone. He will meet with Birds tomorrow.
Bird I told that clown fraudman that Chip to the browns is far from done and that the birds were told by Chip and his camp that they are not out of the running for him. Things are just starting to heat up.
Gut feeling is McCoy. Chip stays in college and the bills hire love and the browns go with shanahan
Den, as I’ve stated yesterday, Baldinger said the job is John Grudens to take. But while it is still up in the air, Lurie is doing his due diligence, with the interview process. The Roseman factor, & his brother being in a game this week, is holding up his decision. “Buffalo Chips” Kelly, ain’t coming here. THANK GOD! Good luck in NFL purgatory! No way Lurie was going to pay PSU $9M, just to get him out of Un-Happy Valley, even before a contract. Gargano throws a lot of BS out there, all of the time! His MLB sources are spot on, but he is wrong the majority of times, in NFL! I believe Baldinger, & would listen to Eskin, Lombardi, Florio, & King, before him in NFL mattters!
Bradley or jay gruden are my picks
Eagles don’t want Chip Kelly, but they’re flying out to Arizona to interview him today even though Browns apparently have edge.. funny stuff. You guys need to wake up. Just because you don’t want Chip doesn’t mean the Eagles don’t. And if im the Eagles, why not do you due diligence and check it out to see if this guy is a fit? You have nothing to lose here. Now when it comes to picking the right coach that’s the challenge, they can’t miss on the guy or they will set this franchise even further back.
Eagles want Chip Kelly, it will be interesting to see how their Interview goes. Kelly is also talking to the Bills as well
I am sure Banner has made a nice Offer to Kelly with authority
Over Player Personnel since they have no GM
Which the Bills/Eagles are unlikely to do since they have GM’s in place already which may or may not be the final difference in Kelly’s decision on where to land
kelly is not at the top of the eagles list. that is a fact. it has nothing to do with authority etc. i hope he goes to the browns gets full control and of course get fired after year 2 or 3….
Come on man think! The coach has already been decided. The research has been done long ago. Lurie and Roseman have thier man they are just interviewing other coaches just to make sure. I truley believe they already know who the next coach will be.
i believe they have a list and a short list. they have a front runner for sure but due diligence means we interview these guys to see if anyone blows us away.
i read that kelly likes colt mccoy for his offense- don’t know if thats true but again good luck with that.
That’s why I don’t want him here cigar, Colt could probably run his offense but this ain’t college.
Chip Kelly leaving Cleveland without a deal could be very very troubleing to Eagle fans who dont want him. I cant believe Banner letting him go without a contract can be good for Cleveland.lol. Maybe Banner is playing Lurie and Kelly really isnt thier choice. Banner brought Kelly in, released bogus statment he almost is signed, let him go hoping Eagles sign him and leave the coach they really want alone. Say the Browns know the Eagles are high on McCoy and thats the Browns target.The Browns know the Eagles are more desireable destination so they have to trick the Eagles into taking Kelly and leaving McCoy. hmmmmmm
Considering all the time Howie Roseman spent with Chip Kelly over the last year or so, this interview will be totally for Jeff Lurie’s benefit. I think Roseman would hire Kelly yesterday if he could.
It’s my opinion that hiring Chip Kelly has been discussed by the Eagles front office since back when Joe Banner and Howie worked together.
I’m not a Chip Kelly fan, but I think he will be our next coach… just the feeling I get.
I hope you are wrong and all inside media types Maclean Eskin etc are saying they aren’t that high on Kelly… That worries me because I hope it’s not some sort of smoke screen … When I think of Kelly I think of Eddie Jordan. Disaster
It’s just odd that he told the Browns that he would have dinner with them tonight, but he wants to have lunch with the Eagles group first.
It reminds my of the movie “Barbarians at the gate” lol
*** reminds ME
He’s loving the attention and the hand jobs under the table trying to drive his price up… They all do, Obrien did it to PSU. Plus they eat at very good restaurants and he doesn’t even pretend to reach for the bill.
Yeah, at least it will be over quick.
when is the superbowl ? and when is vick guareenteed 3 million ?
If Vick is on the Eagles roster Feb. 6, 2013, three days after this season’s Super Bowl, $3M of his salary becomes fully guaranteed.
The Eagles can cut him any time, but they will carry $7.2M dead money against the cap. But they won’t pay Vick anything after the $3M.
Keep these two names in mind as well.. Nick Saban and Brian Kelly who will become available after mondays title game. The two coaches have been very hush hush about making the jump to the pros but expect them both to certainly be interested in coming and I can see the Eagles having interest in both coaches. Alot of possibilities here. Also think about why chip wants to make a decision right away, he doesnt want these other coaches interfering or swaying the teams decisions.. stay tuned
I saw that on profootballtalk.com as well….
So did he. Where do you think he gets his so-called breaking news?!? That’s the dumb@$$e$ insider sources. He actually had the guts, to come on here last year, & said he worked at the Nova Care, & gets all the insider scoops! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! What a delusion, little child. At least I have REAL people I know, & communicate with. What a laugh, the poor child is!
I was taking a more subtle jab. Saying so the fuck what… Any of us that have a computer and care have the exact same info.
Don’t jab him, hit him with a haymaker. The dude has issues. I pity the fool!
BTW, Nick Saban is a failure in the NFL, & why in the hell would Brian Kelly leave ND?!? That’s better than having an NFL gig!
Darrell Bevell, Jay Gruden, Bruce Arians = these seem to be the type of people the Eagles are looking at — recent offensive coordinators who have had success working with recent young QB draft picks — maybe add Shanahan jr., Sherman, Chudzinski to the list
Nick Saban is on the verge of winning his fourth national championship. If hes not a worthy candidate idk who is. We know this, the interviews will spill over into next week, possibly paving the way for the Eagles to interview Saban and possibly Brian Kelly too. Two very good head coaches..
Btw, Eagles are interviewing Chip Kelly as I type lol..
Kelly had brunch with Lurie. Wrong again, LIL BRON-BRON! He also has his 2nd face-to-face with Cleveland tonight, at a dinner. But I guess you already knew & reported that, from your insider sources?!?
He got a steak but ordered Chardonnay to drink! Lurie was so appalled he removed him from consideration. I know this because my nephew was their waiter
Dcar is stalking me again, dont you have a second job to go to freddie mitch?..How dare you question my sources?.. All you do is come on here and rant and cry and curse and show your limited level of vocabulary. Quit your talking and stalking.. sheesh louise
My man, I’ve forgotten more, than you could ever hope to attain! Limited vocabulary? BWAHAHAHAHA!!!! You don’t know me, Son! Now tell your Mom to fix you, your bubble bath & rubber ducky! How dare I question your sources?!? You mean PFT, & every other Sports news source, that everybody else see’s & hears?!? Dude, you are as retarded & delusional, of an @$$muppet, that I’ve ever encountered, in my 44 years, on this Earth! If you honestly believe the Diarrhea that you spew on here, you need to make an appointment, to see a Psychiatrist! I pity you Son! Get a life. Go find a Girl. Oh yeah, I forgot you stay in the basement, play pretending! My bad!
I think Bradley is a bad choice for this team. Defense has been a weakness but its stacked with talent that I think a solid DC can easily work with. Our biggest problem going forward is offense. Without a clear cut option at QB, an O-Line with very little depth, and small inconsistent recievers, I see a lot of question marks. The QB situation is the most concerning to me. It’s relatively easy to deal with holes in most other positions but choosing the wrong QB can relegate a team to mediocrity for years. We need an offensive minded coach that has the ability to find and develop a young QB, not ot mention fix some of the other problems with the offense.
Stacked with talent? Where? Couple of LBs, a DT and potentially a DE or 2. They still need another LB, a DT, 1-2 CBs and 2 Safeties. That is a ton of holes to fill and I would like to see a guy like Bradley come in and refit the Birds with the same sort of physical secondary that the Seahawks have. You would need an experienced OC, but that is also what you would need if you hired someone like McCoy. If they hire an OC or DC, then they will need a strong counterpoint on the other side.
The only NFL Job that Nick Saban would take would be back at his home state Team which is the Detroit Lions if he would want to try the NFL one last time
But that is 2 years away given Lions HC Schwartz contract situation
Kelly has his Dream Job at ND and very unlikely that he would leave anytime soon now that he has the Program on the up again
Just a random thought but in this upcoming draft I see the Ravens finding a way to draft Manti Teo to replace their soon to be retired future HOF LB Ray Lewis.. you heard it here first. They may or may not have to move up for him but we ll see..
Ravens have Alonzo Hightower who they Drafted last Season
From Alabama who will be the replacement for Lewis though I am sure they would love Teo’ (who wouldn’t)
Ravens value their Draft picks and are not a team to mortgage future or additional picks to move up in the Draft.. Similar to the Steelers & Guants philosophy of staying put and drafting the highest player they have rated on their boards has been GM Ozzie Newsome’s approach
The Rabens will most likely let Ed Reed Walk as his Contract is up
And he’s getting up there, injuries and has lost a step
Ravens need Safety, OL help more than LB in this Draft
I see Teo’ going in the Top 6-7 Picks (Raiders, Lions,Jets) as likely landing spots
Paul, Alonzo does not equal Dont’a – get a clue
Alonzo was RB for Houston Oilers Vack in the 80’s, from the University of Miami I believe, big deal Schiller..