At any job, bosses and their employees may not always get along with each other, and Philadelphia Eagles offensive line coach Chris Kuper is learning this lesson the hard way.
Before filling the massive shoes of Jeff Stoutland, Kuper spent the last four years as the offensive line coach for the Minnesota Vikings, with one of the players he coached being former second-round pick Ed Ingram. While being interviewed by a local station in Houston, the now-Texans offensive lineman talked about his excitement for joining the team and seemed to take a shot at Kuper while talking about his new offensive line coach.
“What better place for them to be than Houston?” Ingram said. “I came here, I excelled. Shout out to Cole Popovich. He never let me get complacent, and he always challenged me. Personally, I’ve always thought I’m a great player. All I need is the right person to help me. Coming here was probably the best thing to ever happen to me in my career, coming here and having a coach."
"Coming here was probably the best thing to ever happen to me in my career, coming here and having a coach. Pretty much take me under his wing and kind of hone in my skills, because the skills were there. It just needed to be honed in and just controlled a little bit. It has helped me out tremendously.”
Chris Kuper indirectly being criticized by Ed Ingram in latest interview
Not exactly what the Eagles want to hear about a coach who is taking over from a future Hall of Famer in Stoutland. Philly has seen so many offensive linemen come and go over the last decade under Stoutland, including Jason Kelce, Evan Mathis, Lane Johnson, Jason Peters, Jordan Mailata, Brandon Brooks, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, and many more.
Kuper has a lot of trust he needs to build with the Eagles fan base, and that unflattering endorsement (or lack thereof) from Ingram won't make fans happy. This city needs a guy who will keep up the tradition of a great offensive line.
It's not going to be an easy challenge for Kuper, as this version of the Eagles' offensive line has their issues. Durability has been called into question with guys like Johnson, Dickerson, and Jurgens, with the first two almost retiring because of it. Kuper also has to make sure that right guard Tyler Steen takes a massive step forward in his development.
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Among all the assistant jobs in the NFL, Kuper might have the toughest one because the talent is so good, but he has a lot to fix at the same time. From what Ingram is saying, Eagles fans might have to be cautious about their new coach.
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