Philadelphia Eagles: Expect a surprise hiring at offensive coordinator

The Philadelphia Eagles’ silence during their offensive coordinator search has left plenty of room for speculation on who they might hire.

If this season proved anything, it was that changes were on the horizon for the Philadelphia Eagles. The front office answered the call almost immediately following their playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks, purging the staff of former offensive coordinator Mike Groh, quarterbacks coach Carson Walch, and eventually defensive line coach Phillip Daniels.

Cory Undlin, who we thought might be on the chopping block, left to become the defensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions, leaving the defensive backs coach’s job open as well.

While the rest of the league duked it out for some of the top coaching candidates to fill their own vacancies, the Eagles sat idly and watched the dust settle.

Philly’s offense will look different by the time April rolls around. One thing is that’s certain is the Eagles need someone who’s system accentuates the talents of Carson Wentz and brings fresh ideas to the table.

The prime candidate is Jim Caldwell, the current assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach of the Miami Dolphins, but they shouldn’t ignore some of the talents that exist in the NCAA.

Having previously considered Graham Harrell from the USC Trojans, the ‘Birds’ seemingly have already mulled over the idea of reaching into the college cookie jar where they once found Chip Kelly. If they were to do so again, hopefully, the outcome would be different this time around.

Other names that were floating around in the rumor mill were Mike Kafka (but Andy Reid put an end to that) and former backup quarterback Josh McCown. Each new potential candidate named seems to have a totally different ideology than the one that preceded him. That makes anyone interested feel as though the Eagles are keeping their minds open. That makes it difficult for fans and pundits to pinpoint what direction the team intends to go in.

There hasn’t been a ton of news on the subject either. Philly’s done a great job of keeping their cards close to their chest. If history is any indication, the Eagles will value someone with ingenuity, but it seems that until we’re told who they’ve hired, everyone will be left in a fog to argue about the possibilities.

The Eagles will eventually fill the vacancy. News broke on January 29th that everyone may be able to expect an answer by the end of the following week. It appears that the answer may come as a sudden announcement rather than a slow crescendo. When Philly does land their man, the choice may not be someone who’s been heavily discussed. We’ll just have to wait and see when they tell us.