Eagles are entering familiar territory. The search for a new head coach reeks of despair. Doug Pederson was not the only trainer who packed. The offensive coordinator’s ‘dream team’ was dismantled and left the Eagles needing to completely rebuild their offensive team. But despite an encouraging series of candidates being chosen, there is a strange sense of familiarity.
We all remember Doug Pederson’s hiring. At the time, the Eagles were supposed to be eyeing Adam Gase (luckily it didn’t work). Pederson was promptly hired after Gase was hired by the Miami Dolphins, and the rest is history.
Ironically, both Pederson and Gase are unemployed, although the former Eagles coach should be better positioned to find a new home first, while Adam Gase is likely to be watching the odds for live football on the Sports Betting Dime. Green Bay at -6.5 and Baltimore at +2.5 are some spreads that you can see there.
Before signing, Jeffrey Lurie made it clear that, although for very different reasons, he wanted to ensure that he would return to the glory days once under Andy Reid. Pederson was the perfect man for that, in his opinion.
As a former quarterback and then QB coach with the team led by Andy Reid, he followed Big Red to Kansas City, where he took on the role of offensive coordinator. Many doubted Pederson’s experience and lack of gameplay, but Reid said he had been calling the second half of the games during the second half of the 2015 season, and that this was not a concern.
If we advance six entire seasons, we will be back to square one. Although he cannot interview due to playoff obligations, Chiefs QB coach Mike Kafka is a consideration for the team. Kafka was cast by the Eagles in 2011 under Andy Reid and is now working with him in Kansas City, although he may be among the less experienced candidates for the role.
Sound familiar?
Eric Bieniemy’s case is a little less “tied with the Eagles”, but he is still thriving with Andy Reid as the team’s offensive coordinator.
It is not so much these names that are of concern. The Eagles interviewed 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh yesterday, who has been through two with the Jets. If Saleh is the primary target and they miss, time will be running and candidates will disappear, which could send the Eagles back to Kansas City in an attempt to kick the treadmill for another run.
Eagles cannot expect anything to change if they keep repeating the same formula, and that goes beyond the search for Head Coaching. We reported earlier this year that the micromanagement implemented by Roseman and Lurie has caused damage to the team, and this was also verified today through a similar report by Howard Eskin. The source of Chris Infante’s report said Pederson’s relationship with Howie Roseman was ‘similar to Grigson / Pagano’.
The Colts went through a very bad relationship between their GM and their trainer, something that the Eagles reflected on painfully.
Regardless of who the Eagles hire, if the board and superiors continue to pressure the coach to make decisions, then nothing will truly change and the cycle will just repeat itself.
It’s up to Jeffrey Lurie to realize that you can’t move on if the goal is to replicate the past. Whether it is hiring or your own actions, Eagles need to change, not more of the same.
Andy Lewis / Icon Sportswire photo
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