ESPN unit grades reflect Jeff Stoutland’s mastery as Eagles assistant

There may not be a man walking in the City of Brotherly Love with more job security than the Philadelphia Eagles‘ offensive line coach. If it seems like Jeff Stoutland has been hanging around forever, it’s because he has been… by NFL standards anyway.

Chip Kelly had a ton of flaws, but he got a few things right. He drafted Zach Ertz, Lane Johnson, and Nelson Agholor (hey, Nelson did have a few moments), but he definitely did the franchise a solid by adding a coach whose brilliance is still paying dividends.

Jeff Stoutland was a member of Kelly’s first NFL coaching staff in 2013. Chip got the boot four days after Christmas in 2015 with a game remaining on the schedule. He was 6-9 at the time. Philly won the final game of the season if you’re interested.

Stout was retained by Philly’s next head coach, Doug Pederson, and when Doug got the ax, or that mutual decision was reached, or whatever, Nick Sirianni added Jeff to his coaching staff in 2021. Are you seeing a pattern here?

It’s gotten to the point where Coach Stout is as much of a fixture in Philadelphia as the Eagles themselves. He’ll be this team’s offensive line coach for as long as he wants to be, and while we often bang on the Birds for what they aren’t doing, keeping Jeff around is one of those things that they’ve gotten right.

ESPN’s Mike Clay sees the Eagles’ offensive line as the NFL’s best.

We all love numbers. That’s why we play Fantasy football, follow NFL Next Gen Stats on Twitter, and work the cost of a Pro Football Focus subscription into our budgets. They just give us so much to talk about.

Recently, ESPN’s Mike Clay gave us more fuel for fodder. He’s provided grades for every unit on every NFL team. As you might expect, the Birds have some work to do, but Clay gives Philly’s offensive line the highest grade of any O-line in the NFL with a mark of 4.0.

Jason Kelce’s return factors into that obviously, as does the impending returns of Isaac Seumalo and Jack Driscoll. The Eagles are preparing for life without Brandon Brooks being a part of this unit now, but they struck gold by drafting Landon Dickerson. He was a monster as a rookie, and he figures to continue taking steps forward in year two.

Oh, and don’t forget about Coach Stoutland. They’ve got the right guy leading them. Like a fine wine, he gets better with age. The title of Run Game Coordinator was added to Stout’s plate in 2018. How’s that going? Pretty good, right?

Check him out as he teaches the future stars of tomorrow:

There’s absolutely nothing to dislike about this young man. Is there any wonder why he’s been a part of the last three coaching staffs? We don’t know about you, but we’re pumped about watching this Eagles O-line kick some teeth in again next season.