Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback Coach Hunt To Begin (Again)

Oct 26, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks coach

against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Eagles 24-20. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback Coach Hunt To Begin (Again)

BREAKING NEWS:  Michael Silver of the NFL network reported that the rumors are true, the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback coach Bill Musgrave will be packing his bags for the Oakland Raiders, where he will take over as offensive coordinator.   That makes three times in three years that will find head coach Chip Kelly in the unenviable position of hiring his quarterback coach since arriving in the NFL.  Many will say the quarterbacks coach is simply not important.  They’ll point to the Eagles offense, a brainchild of the offensive mastermind Chip Kelly, and claim anyone can succeed there.

Then there is the other camp.  They believe that the only way to run a Chip Kelly offense is with THE quarterback – a Marcus Mariota or Russell Wilson type.   Any other player is simply too pedestrian and does not challenge the defense enough.   Imagine having a sports car stuck in city traffic and you see the perspective of these fans.   To get the most out of the high octane offense, they believe you need a high octane quarterback.

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But somewhere in the midst of the two sides emerged quarterback Nick Foles.  He broke into the league under former head coach Andy Reid, and did little more than run an inept team into last place of the NFC East.   When Chip Kelly showed up, he initially lost out on the quarterback competition to Jets quarterback Michael Vick.  But when Vick was injured in 2013, Foles did virtually nothing wrong, and he ran the offense nearly to perfection in 2013.  In thirteen appearances, he completed 64% of his passes for 2,891 yards, 27 touchdowns and just two interceptions and two fumbles.

But as stellar as he was in 2013, he was just as pedestrian in 2014.  In eight games, he completed 59.8 % of his passes for 2,163 yards, 13 touchdowns but ten interceptions to go with three fumbles.  His backup, Mark Sanchez, completed 64.1% of his passes for 2,418 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.     While the offense moved at will, they made it a point to give the ball away – averaging 2.25 turnovers per game.   Despite being the eighth most opportunistic defense in the NFL in that department, they ended at the sixth worst position with a negative eight rating.  Only the Indianapolis Colts went into the post season with a deficit in that statistic.   The surge in the Eagles turnovers?  The quarterback play.

Eagles Quarterbacks Declined Under Bill Musgrave

When former Eagles quarterback coach Doug Pederson was promoted in 2011, he had no idea just how short his career would be.  But he did sit as the first NFL quarterback coach of 2012 when the Philadelphia Eagles selected the 6′ 6″ 230+ pound quarterback from the University of Arizona.  At the time, the Eagles had settled in on Michael Vick, having failed at the Vincent Young quarterback experiment.   Foles brought the stature of Donovan McNabb, but did not have the pressure to immediately star in the NFL.   That being said, he came onto the team just long enough to witness the entire coaching staff released and a completely new staff form under Kelly.

His second quarterback coach was Bill Lazor.  Lazor was an intense perfectionist and worked tirelessly with Foles on foot placement, release and little mechanics.  The results were obvious.  Foles mirrored Denver quarterback Peyton Manning’s record tying seven touchdown performance on a road game in Oakland, a performance that clearly turned the fortunes of the Eagles strongly to the positive.   The team road that wave of success through a 7-1 second half that carried them into the playoffs.

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But when the Miami Dolphins offered Lazor an opportunity to become their offensive coordinator for the 2014 season, the Eagles had to look for Foles’ third quarterback coach.   They settled on a man who epitomized a calm demeanor.  While his resume was spectacular, the story surrounding this hire was the perception that the Eagles were tailor fitting a quarterback coach who would not ruffle the feathers of their young quarterback.    Musgrave was the quarterback “whisperer” to another Michael Vick team, the Atlanta Falcons, when they brought Matt Ryan in to start.  But unlike the Falcons success, Musgrave did not repeat the track record with the Eagles and Foles.  Perhaps it was working with a veteran versus a rookie.  Perhaps it was the case of too much micro managing happening before he arrived with his “hands off” approach.  Perhaps Foles is simply still young enough in the NFL to need a kick in the pants to make his focus on the proper mechanics in the game.   Whatever the case, the 2014 quarterback performance of the team took a backslide.   With this now becoming Nick Foles’ contract year, and with the third year under Chip Kelly, the team cannot close their eyes and hope the issues fades away on its own.