No position group on the Philadelphia Eagles was affected by the coaching changes in the offseason as much as the offensive line was.
It's going to be a massive adjustment for them, as longtime offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland is out after 13 years and has been replaced by Chris Kuper. Eagles starting right tackle Lane Johnson opened up about Stoutland leaving and how he has been adjusting to Kuper's coaching.
"It was a shocking ordeal for me, but after being in the league all these years, you can kind of see when things aren't going the way that we want to," Johnson said via The Athletic's Zach Berman. "For me, it's just, I'm trying to learn a new offense and do the best I can with that. As far as replacing Sout, it's gonna be hard to replace that kind of guy in my life, being a mentor and just my coach, all these years. But with our system, there's a lot to learn. Really like Coach Kuper a lot, and so I think, hopefully our offense won't be as stagnant as it was last year. We'll be able to evolve some."
Lane Johnson talked about new coaching changes in the offseason
Losing Stoutland is a massive blow for the Eagles, as he has been such a force within the organization over the last 13 years. Philly is so good at running the football because of how he has been able to develop some of the best offensive linemen in the last two decades, like Johnson, Jason Kelce, Jordan Mailata, Evan Mathis, Jason Peters, Brandon Brooks, Landon Dickerson, and more.
Kuper was a wild card of a signing for the Eagles this offseason, with many concerned about whether he can fill Stoutland's shoes well enough. The Minnesota Vikings did not bring back Kuper during the offseason, leaving him available for the Eagles to hire, but also made some people wonder if he was so good, why didn't the Vikings bring him back?
At least the foundation of the offensive line is set up pretty well for the Eagles, as they have guys like Johnson, Mailata, Dickerson, and Cam Jurgens who are all top talents at their positions. Where Kuper is going to have to thrive is developing Tyler Steen at right guard and getting rookie third-round pick Markel Bell up and ready for when Johnson decides to retire.
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Johnson and the Eagles fan base know the impact Stoutland had on the franchise, and everyone is hoping Kuper will at least hold up his end of the bargain and keep this going.
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