December 08, 2017
In our weekly Eagles chat on Thursday, there were a lot of questions that we could not get to in time or other questions we did answer but could use more color. And so, let's do a mailbag post to answer some of the overflow.
Question from EagleInNM: Where would you rank Doug Pederson among the 2016 NFL coaching hires?
Well, to begin, here are their updated records:
| 2016 coaching hires | Record |
| Doug Pederson, Eagles | 17-11 |
| Mike Mularkey, Titans | 17-11 |
| Adam Gase, Dolphins | 15-13 |
| Dirk Koetter, Buccaneers | 13-15 |
| Ben McAdoo, Giants (FIRED) | 13-15 |
| Chip Kelly, 49ers (FIRED) | 2-14 |
| Hue Jackson, Browns | 1-27 |
I'll rank them in reverse order:
7) Chip Kelly, 49ers: I tweeted this just before the start of the 2016 season, and took all kinds of heat for it:
In my view, there's little question that Chip Kelly is the worst head coach in the NFL, and it's really not even close.
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) August 27, 2016
That was an easy call. Chip had some great ideas, but after one year, teams adapted, stole his best ideas, and he had no answers. That should have been clear to any NFL front office, but apparently wasn't to the Niners.
6) Hue Jackson, Browns: I mean, he's 1-27.
5) Ben McAdoo, Giants: I think this just about says it all:
4) Dirk Koetter, Buccaneers: (Fart noise.)
3) Adam Gase, Dolphins: He made the playoffs with a shaky roster last season, but that success has not carried over into Year 2. In 2017, he traded one of his best players for a 4th round pick, which raises questions.
2) Mike Mularkey, Titans: The Titans won 5 games combined in 2014 and 2015. Drafting Marcus Mariota has helped, but the Titans really don't have a great roster, and Mularkey has guided them to a 17-11 record.
1) Doug Pederson, Eagles: The Eagles wanted McAdoo, but sometimes being lucky is better than being good. At least they did get it right, as Pederson has helped develop Carson Wentz into an MVP candidate, and the Eagles into a Super Bowl contender.
Question from greenwithenvy: Does the Ben McAdoo firing increase the odds that the Giants game will be difficult to win?
It do believe that becomes a more difficult game, yes. To begin, it makes them more unpredictable. You’ll have new play callers and potentially different schemes, which will make them more difficult to prepare for, at least to some small degree.
And then there’s the motivation factor. McAdoo had clearly lost the locker room by the time he was canned. If you think back to the Eagles’ 2015 season, Chip had lost the locker room as well. After the Eagles canned Chip, they put up 35 points in the final game against the Giants, with absolutely nothing to play for.
Comment from DB: People love to link Doug and Andy at the hip. We shouldn’t forget that Doug has played for Shula, Holmgren, and Gruden. He’s way more than Andy’s coffee boy.
And Mouse Davis, the ‘godfather of the run and shoot,’ with the New York / New Jersey Knights! Anyway, Pederson’s list of influences was widely covered when he was first hired, however, you’re right – it’s maybe worth mentioning again.
Question from doug90254: Eagles fans are already obsessing about losing assistant coaches this upcoming offseason, but what happens every year is that nobody steals coaches from the good teams. They want to lock up a coach while the good teams are still playing in the playoffs. Isn’t the best strategy to preserve your coaching staff simply to go deep in the playoffs?
The ‘strategy’ for every team in the NFL, just generally speaking, is to go deep in the playoffs. #Analysis.
However, even that won’t stop other teams around the league from poaching your assistants. In 2017, the Niners hired Kyle Shanahan, who was the offensive coordinator for a Falcons team that went to the Super Bowl. In 2015, the Falcons hired Dan Quinn, who was the defensive coordinator on a Seahawks team that went to the Super Bowl.
Does making a long playoff run scare some impatient teams off? Maybe, but the idea that ‘nobody steals coaches from the good teams’ is simply incorrect.
Question from Koby: Are Dannell Ellerbe and Will Beatty close to getting more playing time?
Beatty won’t sniff the field unless one of the Eagles’ offensive tackles goes down. He’s not going to start over Vaitai. Even in the case of an injury, depending on Beatty’s readiness, Isaac Seumalo might go in ahead of him.
As for Ellerbe, he was active last week because Joe Walker couldn’t go, but Najee Goode got Walker’s snaps. Ellerbe probably isn’t quite in ‘football shape’ just yet.
Question from Norm Snead: Do any surfing in Cali?
Unfortunately, no. I was hoping to paddle out, but the water is really cold and I’m a wuss. John Clark is a surfer too, and he was talking about renting a wetsuit and heading out, until I reminded him that the last guy that rented that suit probably peed in it. So at least I ruined his fun too.
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