Eagles retain seven coaches, add seven new ones
The Eagles filled most of Doug Pederson's coaching staff Wednesday with the addition of seven coaches and the retention of seven others. The new coaches include offensive coordinator Frank Reich.
The Eagles filled most of Doug Pederson's coaching staff Wednesday with the addition of seven coaches and the retention of seven others. The new coaches include offensive coordinator Frank Reich.
Reich, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, and special-teams coordinator Dave Fipp all have experience in their roles, which will help Pederson in his first year as head coach.
In addition to Fipp, the Eagles retained running backs Duce Staley; offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland; defensive backs/cornerbacks coach Cory Undlin; tight ends coach Justin Peelle; assistant special-teams coach Matthew Harper; and offensive quality control/assistant quarterbacks coach Press Taylor.
The Eagles added defensive backs/safeties coach Tim Hauck; linebackers coach Ken Flajole; wide receivers coach Greg Lewis; assistant offensive line/tight ends/run game coach Eugene Chung; defensive quality control/assistant defensive line coach Phillip Daniels; defensive quality control/assistant secondary coach Dino Vasso; and Matthew Harper, assistant special-teams coach.
The team has not named a quarterbacks coach or defensive line coach. The quarterbacks coach will be former Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, according to multiple reports.
The new staff features eight former NFL players, including Pederson. That appeared to be a heavy emphasis. The 2015 staff had only two coaches who played in the NFL. There are also Eagles connections throughout the staff. Of the seven new coaches announced Wednesday, three played or worked for the team.
The biggest addition to the staff was Reich, 54, who was the San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator the last two seasons. The Chargers ranked No. 9 in yards per game in 2015 and No. 18 in 2014 with Philip Rivers at quarterback and Reich calling plays. He does not come from Andy Reid's coaching tree, so he can offer a different perspective to the offense. Pederson will still call plays, the new coach announced Tuesday.
Reich is well known as a former NFL quarterback, spending 13 seasons in the NFL. He played nine years for the Buffalo Bills and led the Bills to a 32-point comeback in the second half of the AFC playoffs in January 1993. He spent six seasons as the Indianapolis Colts' quarterbacks coach and worked closely with Peyton Manning.
Among the newcomers, the most familiar names to Eagles fans will likely be Lewis and Hauck.
Lewis, 35, played six years for the Eagles, from 2003 to 2008, before finishing his career with two years in Minnesota. He coached in college for three years, and spent 2015 on the New Orleans Saints staff.
Hauck, 49, played 13 years in the NFL, including three years with the Eagles, from 1999 to 2001. He started alongside Brian Dawkins at safety in 1999, when Pederson played in Philadelphia. Hauck coached in both college and the NFL beginning in 2004, and he was mostly recently the defensive coordinator at Nevada-Las Vegas, in 2013 and 2014.
Flajole, 61, is one of the most experienced new coaches on the staff. He spent 17 years as an NFL assistant, including three as the St. Louis Rams' defensive coordinator, from 2009 to 2011.
Daniels and Chung are both former NFL players. Chung was also the Eagles' assistant offensive line coach from 2010 to 2012. He came from the Kansas City Chiefs, as did Vasso.
Chip Kelly's staff has a strong presence on Pederson's staff. Fipp oversaw one of the NFL's top special-teams units. Undlin was a popular addition last season and earned the respect of the defensive backs. Stoutland coached the offensive line during Kelly's whole tenure.
Staley, who interviewed for the head coaching job, spent three years leading the running backs for Kelly and also worked for Andy Reid in Philadelphia. His Eagles career overlapped with Pederson's season at quarterback.
Peelle, who played tight end in the NFL for 10 seasons, has worked with Zach Ertz and Brent Celek the last two seasons. Taylor was the quality control coach on offense during Kelly's three seasons. Harper is the only remaining coach who was also on Kelly's staff at Oregon.
The new coaching staff will head to Mobile, Ala. for the Senior Bowl next week.