Philadelphia Eagles: 5 Possible replacements for Jim Schwartz in 2021

Could the Philadelphia Eagles just promote a DC from within?

If all that you know about Matt Burke is he’s the Eagles’ defensive line coach and running game coordinator, you’ve missed a considerable portion of a very decent looking coaching resume. Burke’s run began as an assistant coach at Bridgton Academy before he had a couple of stops at Boston College and Harvard.

That led to a nod by the Tennessee Titans. They made him an administrative assistant in 2004 before he was promoted to the role of defense quality control coach in 2006. From 2014 to 2018, he gained even more experience as he served everywhere from the Detroit Lions to the Cincinnati Bengals to the Miami Dolphins as he cut his teeth as a linebackers coach with the Motown and Cincy before becoming a defensive coordinator in Miami Gardens in 2017 (he also served as their linebackers coach in 2016).

Since joining the Birds in 2019 as a defensive special assistant, he’s earned a promotion and now leads the defensive line. You can make an argument that he hasn’t gotten much out of Javon Hargrave, but he has helped in this renaissance at the defensive end position.

Brandon Graham is enjoying the best season of his career. Derek Barnett has never looked better, and Josh Sweat continues to improve. The argument can be made that Philly’s best unit on the roster is the defensive line. Burke has had a lot to do with that. If Philly chose to look for an internal candidate, there isn’t a much better option than this man.