5 Potential offensive coordinator targets for this Philadelphia Eagles team
By Ben Swanger
Bill O’Brien would be a premier play-caller for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Despite the fact that Bill O’Brien was the first head coach fired during the 2020 season, the Philadelphia Eagles would be hard-pressed to find a more experienced and decorated play-caller. O’Brien was fired due in part to his mismanagement of the Houston Texans roster as general manager.
He traded the team’s 2020 and 2021 first-round picks for an offensive lineman. That first-round selection has now turned into third overall-selection due to the Texans posting a 4-12 record. Unfortunately, that pick now belongs to someone else. O’Brien then decided to trade his franchise wide receiver. What he got in return is no consequence. It was an abysmal trade.
Luckily for O’Brien and any team that decides to employ him, he will never have personnel control again. In Philly, he would simply focus on improving the offense, and that is a very low bar to try and exceed.
In six seasons under O’Brien, the Texans finished with winning records five times and collected two division titles. He would bring much needed authoritative leadership to the offense in the City of Brotherly Love.
O’Brien’s offensive scheme has been well balanced over the course of the past few years. In 2018 and 2019, the years Houston posted back-to-back AFC South titles, the offense employed the run 55 percent of the time and the pass 45 percent of the time. With Deshaun Watson, O’Brien incorporated RPO concepts, a heavy play-action passing game, and a quick-hitting pass game that saw Watson release the ball quickly post-snap. All three concepts would be beneficial to second-year quarterback Jalen Hurts, assuming he is the guy in 2021.
From 2007 to 2011, O’Brien was the understudy of Bill Belichick in New England, and in his final season, O’Brien took over as OC and led a Patriots offense to Super Bowl XLV. O’Brien has leadership experience. He has Super Bowl experience. He has a balanced attack that would prove to be beneficial for a young Jalen Hurts. Philadelphia should not let his GM debacle deter them from interviewing O’Brien for the job.