Does The Philadelphia Eagles Front Office Have A Plan?

The search for the next Philadelphia Eagles head coach has been reduced by one. With Adam Gase hired by the Miami Dolphins, the Eagles have now lost the one legitimate head coach candidate that they have brought in. So the next question that we all have to ask ourselves is: Do Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman know what they’re doing? The mass hysteria coming from a large population of the Eagles fans would say that the answer to that question is a resounding no.

Let me begin by painting you a picture: The Philadelphia Eagles hire a brand-new coach who has ties to the organization as a former tight ends coach. This coach has seen the NFC East for the past 12 years. This same coach has won five division titles. He has two Super Bowl victories in that same time span. If this same coach was not named Tom Coughlin, wouldn’t you be very excited to have him be the next prospective coach of the Philadelphia Eagles?

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Let me paint you another picture. This coach also has won a (singular) Super Bowl in the past 15 years. This coach is a coveted commodity amongst some in the Philadelphia Eagles fan base. He had an overall losing record in his final six years as an NFL head coach. He hasn’t coached in the professional ranks in eight years. His flippant attitude in the television booth already paints a picture of a guy that just isn’t what Lurie and Roseman want. SO STOP TALKING ABOUT HIM.

An underground fan swelling exists (okay majority) for Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson to become the next Eagles coach. Unfortunately Jackson’s ties to Trent Baalke in San Francisco make the likelihood of he and the Eagles ever reaching more than just a slight courtship highly improbable. He is nothing more than a pipe dream. And after last night’s performance by the Bengals, do you realistically think that Hue Jackson is going to be easy to obtain? While they didn’t win the game, the offense found ingenious ways to get the ball down the field in horrible weather conditions. He has a lot of bargaining power from his work in Cincinnati. Particularly when he’s been able to maximize the talent of young A.J. McCarron, who posted a 97.1 quarterback rating and whose only three interception on the season came in his first start and last start of the season (all to the Steelers).

And that brings me to the biggest issue involving the head coach search. Gase was given full control of the 53 man roster for the Dolphins. That is a big issue for an organization to hurdle over. And it’s an issue that burned the Eagles and Lurie over the past couple years. Which then brings up a whole new issue. Now that a first-year head coach has been given the keys to the house, what’s going to stop each and every prospective head coach from wanting the same power and responsibility?

The Kansas City Chiefs have won in the playoffs with Alex Smith. This is only going to inflate the hype surrounding Doug Pederson. The hypothetical scenarios featuring Pederson and Sam Bradford are going to be overwhelming if he is eventually hired as the head coach. The underlying problem with Pederson is that his inexperience as a head coach could lead to the same power play that Gase found in Miami. And if that’s the case, that puts the Eagles ownership in a precarious situation when it comes to the hiring of their next head coach. At what point do they have to cave to a potential power play from a coach with minimal to no head coaching experience?

Question marks remain for all the coaching candidates. And however upset or impatient the fan base appears, the Philadelphia Eagles ownership is taking the right steps towards finding their next head coach. This is a fluid situation. It’s important not to lose sight of that. Prior to the conclusion of the regular season, very few would have predicted that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would have fired Lovie Smith. Patience is no longer a virtue as it pertains to the National Football League. Never truer has been the acronym Not For Long. Head coaches in the NFL now also need to keep their head on a swivel just the same as the players they coach.

What’s important is that Eagles management is taking their time and methodically going through the available coaching candidates. There’ll always be people that are upset that the big flashing names such as David Shaw or Kevin Sumlin are not pursued more vigorously. But I think that we’ve all learned from the Chip Kelly experiment. The professional ranks are just not the same as college. And in the event that the Eagles do sign Pederson to be their next head coach, it’s imperative to note that he has experience. Not only in the NFL, but with the Philadelphia Eagles ownership and the fan base, unlike his predecessor.

I like to think that the majority of us can figure out that the Eagles have established a plan when it comes to finding a new head coach. They are looking for the future long-term coach. They want an intuitive and ingenious young mind that can lead this team for years to come. Look past Tom Coughlin and see that Ben McAdoo would be the current and successor coach. Look at Adam Gase and you’ll see a bright young offensive mind that is coveted by numerous NFL G.M.’s and execs alike.

There is no faulting what Lurie and Roseman are currently doing in their coaching search. One way or another they’re going to be taking a risk. Lurie took a risk when he hired Andy Reid. He took a far greater one when he hired Chip Kelly. Thus far (with the exception of Pat Shurmur) the Eagles have limited the risk but have interviewed solid candidates. Regardless of what happens with the coaching search, I applaud the Eagles direction thus far this off-season.

Next: How Howie Roseman Is Killing The Eagles

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