How Carson Wentz once saved Frank Reich’s Eagles job, and maybe Doug Pederson’s, too | Marcus Hayes

Dysfunction and hubris have been the cornerstone of Jeffrey Lurie’s front offices in the 26 years that he has owned the Eagles. This dynamic supplies endless tales of mismanagement, bad decisions, and showdowns. Here’s one more.

According to two sources no longer with the team, Lurie was convinced that offensive coordinator Frank Reich should be fired after the 2016 season. Reich and head coach Doug Pederson, who called the plays, managed only the 22nd-ranked offense, with the 24th-ranked passing attack. Lurie found that unacceptable, even with rookie quarterback Carson Wentz running the offense.

In the week following the 7-9 season, Lurie had made up his mind to order Pederson to fire Reich and promote quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo. If Pederson refused, Pederson would be fired, too. That week, Lurie had spent three hours meeting with defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, a former head coach, and considered Schwartz a ready replacement if he fired Pederson.

It never came to that.

Wentz intervened.

Through an intermediary — believed to be his agent, Ryan Tollner, who has a superb relationship with Lurie and general manager Howie Roseman — Wentz let Lurie know that Reich, even more than DeFilippo, had sped his incredibly rapid development. Wentz played college football at the FCS (I-AA) level, but, by the end of training camp, despite missing three preseason games with an injury, Wentz was so prepared to play that the Eagles felt comfortable trading veteran Sam Bradford. Reich said he’d believed Wentz would be ready to start as a rookie the first time he’d seen Wentz’s college film.

Reich, who had a 13-year NFL career as a quarterback, was more involved with Wentz’s progress than an offensive coordinator normally would be. Reich worked on Wentz’s mechanics. Reich worked on Wentz’s recognition of defenses. Reich schemed simple, quick plays that Wentz liked. And, perhaps most importantly, Reich made Wentz feel comfortable. A passionate Christian from North Dakota, Wentz trusted Reich, who grew up in Lebanon, Pa., and who also is a pastor and was the president of a theological seminary.

Carson advocated.

Reich stayed.

» READ MORE: Carson Wentz forces Eagles to make the worst trade in Philadelphia sports history | Marcus Hayes

Wentz proceeded to have an MVP-caliber season in 2017 until a knee injury in Game 13 ended it. Nick Foles took over and led the Eagles to their first Super Bowl title. This chain of events turned everything for Reich. His stock just two years earlier had been in the cellar. Now, it suddenly was sky high.

He’d been fired as the Chargers’ coordinator after the 2015 season. He’d nearly been fired from the Eagles’ job after the 2016 season. But now, with a Super Bowl ring and a star young quarterback on his resume, Reich was a hot head-coaching candidate. So, when Josh McDaniels reneged on taking the head-coaching job with the Colts, Reich slid into that spot. Now, three years later, Reich has been to the playoffs twice, he has won a postseason game, and, incredibly, he’s coaching Wentz again; Wentz forced a trade from the Eagles in February.

Asked during the 2019 season about this chain of events, Reich declined comment. Asked in 2018, so did Wentz, as did Lurie.

This particular front-office drama remained off the record until now because the sources feared retribution from Lurie or Roseman, since both sources remain in the league. Those fears seem irrelevant now. The madness of Lurie’s reign is coming ever more to light, with current and former employees leaking information like Trump’s White House.

» READ MORE: Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie is acting more like Jerry Jones, so don’t just blame Howie Roseman | Marcus Hayes

My sources told me the Wentz/Reich story in 2018, as they fretted about Wentz’s growing power in the organization — and his growing ego.

They then told me in February, on background, that Lurie’s meddling in personnel matters had grown more intrusive since he’d replaced Chip Kelly with Pederson, and that the meddling had become downright oppressive since the Eagles won Super Bowl LII.

Inquirer football writer Jeff McLane in March wrote a detailed account of why Roseman retains his position as GM despite his growing list of failures.

» READ MORE: Howie Roseman’s staying power is built on Jeffrey Lurie’s trust, but he has his fair share of critics

On Monday, The Athletic offered a similar story about the foibles of Lurie’s franchise.

Both The Inquirer and Athletic stories included sections that dealt with Reich’s imminent dismissal. However, both stories cited sources that said it was Pederson who insisted that Reich be allowed to stay. Those sources may well believe that to be true; in fact, those sources may well be right.

However, logic would indicate that Pederson lacked that sort of clout.

After all, after the 2016 season Pederson was an undecorated, first-year head coach coming off a losing season. Three years later — after he’d won a Super Bowl, reached the playoffs three years in a row, and won another playoff game — Pederson was armed with an arsenal of clout. Nevertheless, Lurie forced him to fire offensive coordinator Mike Groh less than 24 hours after Pederson publicly guaranteed that Groh would return for the 2020 season. A year later, partly because Pederson insisted that he finally be granted the authority to hire his own assistants, Lurie fired him.

Pederson never possessed the stature to save anybody’s job. He was lucky to have his own, and he knew it. The Eagles hired Pederson in 2016 for two reasons.

First, their other candidates either took other jobs or withdrew their candidacies.

Second, Andy Reid told them to hire Pederson. Reid told Lurie that Pederson could handle a tough town like Philadelphia, where Pederson played in 1999 and coached under Reid from 2009-12. Reid told Lurie that Pederson, a former NFL player, would relate well to players and had a talent — “emotional intelligence” — that coaches like Kelly often lack.

Sources said in 2016 that Lurie wasn’t thrilled that Pederson wanted to hire Reich as his offensive coordinator. They also said in 2016 that Roseman convinced Lurie to hire Schwartz — who hadn’t coached in a year — as insurance against Pederson’s possible failure.

All of which put Schwartz in position to succeed Pederson if Lurie fired him, which might have happened if Pederson had insisted on keeping Reich. It never came to that.

Thanks to Carson Wentz.