Darius Slay goes to bat for an Eagles assistant coach and franchise legend

Some may disagree with this next statement. Others may say it isn’t a big deal or it overblows something unnecessarily, but if you’re from a military family or you know someone who’s served, calling NFL games ‘wars’ or stating ‘football is like war’ to some is disrespectful. That’s not the intent here, but we’ve all been thinking a lot about Darius Slay recently, his recent Pro Bowl nod (his fourth), and the job he’s done for the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2021-2022 regular season.

In doing so, we started thinking about all of the parallels we’ve ever heard that were drawn between football and war. No, football isn’t a war at all, and we, by no means, are attempting to diminish any of the heroic efforts our friends, families, brothers, and sisters have demonstrated by serving and protecting our great country with their service. What if they were similar though?

What if you had to strap up for battle and join your teammates in the foxhole. Wouldn’t you want Darius Slay with you?

Darius Slay goes to bat for his position coach and a team legend.

It’s easy to sometimes ask if some of the deficiencies we’re seeing from the Philadephia Eagles wide receiver corps need to be blamed on their position coach. Seriously, why doesn’t Aaron Moorhead get called out more often? But, the Eagles have some of the best position coaches and assistant coaches in the game.

There’s Jeff Stoutland. Some believe, and accurately we might add, that he’s the NFL’s best offensive line coach. He’s also the team’s running game coordinator, so give him a high-five for those 200-plus yard rushing games.

Jonthan Gannon is getting consideration as one of 2022’s top head-coaching candidates. Then, there are lesser-known guys with immense talent, defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson for example. Unlike what we’ve seen from Moorehead, each of the Eagles’ young defensive backs has taken steps forward under his watch.

Avonte Maddox has settled in as a nice slot cornerback. Slay, as mentioned earlier just made another Pro Bowl. Recently, while sitting with the media, ‘Big Play’ gave Wilson a shot out, going as far as to say there needs to be some consideration for Wilson becoming a defensive coordinator. Take a look.

Slay’s been a leader, a motivator, and an inspiration to all of his teammates on both sides of the ball. His leadership and qualities as a teammate, from what Fletcher Cox and so many others have told us, are unparalleled (Fletch has been his teammate at Mississippi State and with the Eagles).

Is he a future Pro Football Hall of Famer? Well, he feels like he still has work to do, but while he’s waiting, he has no issue with throwing his ballot in the box for another great Eagle, two-time First-team All-Pro (2007, 2010) and two-time Super Bowl champion, Asante Samuel.

Here’s more from Big Play:

Let’s expound on some of those numbers again. Samuel racked up 23 interceptions, 64 pass breakups, 136 total tackles, and two defensive touchdowns during 56 regular-season games for the Eagles, and that gave him 439 tackles, 51 interceptions, 164 pass breakups, seven forced fumbles, and six defensive touchdowns in 157 career regular-season games. We haven’t even brought up what he’s done in the postseason.

Along with those two First-team All-Pro nods, Samuel was a Second-team All-Pro in 2009. He was also a two-time interceptions leader (2006, 2009), and he’s a member of the New England Patriots All-2000s Team.

You know what? Slay is right! Why in the heck isn’t Asante Samuel in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?