There were many Philadelphia Eagles fans who were heartbroken to hear the news of offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland leaving the team.
After Sean Mannion was hired as the offensive coordinator, it was reported that Stoutland was offered a spot on the coaching staff as offensive line coach. It left many to believe that what happened last year with Stoutland reportedly losing his run game coordinator role at some point in the season played a role in his leaving the franchise.
The Eagles replaced Stoutland with Chris Kuper on the offensive line, but many fans still wondered what happened. They finally got to hear another perspective on it.
Nick Sirianni talks about Jeff Stoutland's departure
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni spoke to the media where he was asked about the Stoutland situation. Sirianni got honest about his appreciation for Stoutland, but understands that it was his decision.
“Obviously, he's been such a huge, important piece of the puzzle of what we've done here, not just in my time, but obviously prior to me being here,” Sirianni said via NBC Sports Philadelphia's Dave Zangaro. “But I can only speak on the time I've been here. And so obviously we wanted him to stay and be involved in this, I'm going to say rebuild, but you know, re-identification, re-classification, however you want to say it.
“At the end of the day, Stout got to where he was and I obviously wish him the best and I'm going to deeply miss him because he's done so many things that have helped us throughout his time here. You always want good, just like you always want good players around, you always want good coaches around. With that being said, I'm really excited about the guys that we brought in. And it's a different … some of the things that we think we're leaning towards doing is a different way of going about it and excited about that opportunity.”
Stoutland spent 13 years in Philadelphia under three different head coaches, winning two Super Bowls and appearing in four. He has coached many great offensive linemen, including Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, Jason Peters, Evan Mathis, Brandon Brooks, Jordan Mailata, and others.
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The Eagles are about to enter a whole new era where they haven't been in 13 years. Kuper has some massive shoes to fill and will have pressure to get the offensive line back on track after last year's struggles.