Philadelphia Eagles news: John Defilippo accepts Vikings’ offer

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 01: Ragnar, mascot for the Minnesota Vikings performs before the game against the Houston Texans on September 1, 2011 at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 01: Ragnar, mascot for the Minnesota Vikings performs before the game against the Houston Texans on September 1, 2011 at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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The purge may be beginning. It starts with the Minnesota Vikings’ hire of former Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo.

It’s inevitable in what’s become a copycat league. When success occurs in the NFL, teams tend to want to emulate others who are successful. It could result in an offense like ‘The West-Coast Offense” being seen throughout the league, and sometimes, it could result in an overabundance of something trendy, ‘The Wildcat’ for instance. At other times, it’s as simple as other teams looking to the winning team’s roster for players or coaches that they can take, and that brings us to former Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo.

Eagles fans knew they weren’t going to be able to hold on to their coaching staff forever, and on February 8th, the same day Philly celebrated their first Super Bowl victory with a parade, their former quarterbacks coach accepted the responsibility of taking over as offensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings.

The move was officially announced on Friday after the Eagles granted DeFilippo permission to interview with the Vikings early.

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Here’s a quote from Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer.

"We are very excited to add John to our staff. We took our time with the search and made sure we left no stone unturned to get the right fit. He has a track record of success and has proven to be a great teacher. We feel John will have good chemistry with our team and we are all eager to get to work."

Eagles quarterback Nick Foles took some time to share his thoughts on the man that helped mold him at the end of the 2017 regular season. DeFilippo helped Foles earn MVP honors in both the NFC Championship Game and in Super Bowl LII.

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Take a look.

"Coach Flip, he’s a grinder. (He) barely sleeps… (He’s giving us) fundamentals, giving us the game plan, giving us all our checks, extremely detailed. I’m grateful for him. He’s done an amazing job this year. It’s not easy when your franchise quarterback goes down, but the great thing about our team and our coaching staff is they work so well together.. They do it all together. We’re very fortunate as players to have such a great coaching staff."

It’s time to go to work (again).

DeFilippo takes over Pat Shurmur who will now take over as head coach of the New York Giants. The Eagles time to celebrate is quickly coming to a close as it’s almost time for the Eagles to play the role of defending Super Bowl Champions. They’ll have to find a new quarterbacks coach, and depending on what happens with their offensive coordinator Frank Reich, who’s also drawing interest from other teams, they may be looking for an OC fairly soon as well.

We’ll be following all of this very closely in the coming weeks.