No departure from the Philadelphia Eagles was tougher on the fans this offseason than seeing Jeff Stoutland leave after 13 years as the offensive line coach.
Stoutland announced that he was stepping away from the team this offseason despite being offered a spot on new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion's staff. Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie spoke with the media at the NFL owners meeting, where he shared his thoughts on Stoutland and the team moving forward with a pretty much all-new offensive coaching staff.
"Stout, I think you guys know he's like family to us, literally," Lurie said via The Athletic's Zach Berman. "And so we still talk all the time. It's been a wonderful relationship that will continue. And it's, he's just a wonderful person and has a wonderful family, and we all maintain very, very close ties with Stout. It's Sean (Mannion's) offense that Nick and he put together. I'm so impressed with the people that they've put together, as well."
Jeffrey Lurie with some kind words about Jeff Stoutland
Even if things have been messy behind the scenes with Stoutland losing his run game coordinator title last year, the organization has been all class since. At the NFL owners' meeting, though, one topic has been whether Stoutland would return to the team in any capacity, with Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni shutting it down for the moment.
That stemmed from Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson publicly saying that Stoutland would be back in some capacity. Last week, Stoutland refuted the claim, stating that he has not spoken with anyone within the franchise about it.
Chris Kuper is replacing Stoutland as the offensive line coach with some big shoes to fill. Stoutland coached multiple Pro Bowlers as he played a key role in the Eagles winning two Super Bowls in the last eight years.
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Maybe someday Stoutland will be back, but there's no doubt he will be in the Hall of Fame soon enough.