Eagles

Meet Your Eagles Head Coaching Candidates, Round 2

By Jim Adair

Published: Jan 5th, 2016 · 2:02 PM EST

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A few more candidates, in-depth:

Ben McAdoo

Ben McAdoo has a lot going for him, not the least of which is that his facial hair/haircut combo makes him look like he’s in witness protection:

McAdoo is another in a string of offensive-minded coaching candidates attached to this search. He is a western PA native and graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and has one Super Bowl title under his belt (as a member of the Packers’ staff). The big question here, now that Tom Coughlin is gone, would be: Is McAdoo is a top candidate to replace him with big blue? As Big Blue Review says:

McAdoo, of course, would be considered a leading candidate should Tom Coughlin resign or be removed as head coach of the Giants. McAdoo has been Giants’ offensive coordinator for two seasons and is widely credited with helping Eli Manning get his career back on track.

 

Teryl Austin

Teryl Austin would be a nice change of pace for the Eagles. He is one of the few defensive-minded coaches reportedly being considered.

At first glance, Austin’s track record isn’t great. As defensive coordinator for the Lions this year, his defense ranked 18th in yards per game (second last season), and 15th in passing yards per game (13th last season). But on the run side, things are much more impressive. The Lions allowed the third fewest rushing yards per game (fewest last season) and the fourth fewest points per game (third in 2014).

In his career, he’s also been to three Super Bowls and helped win one.

Austin will interview with the Dolphins and Browns, in addition to likely being a leading candidate should the Lions move on from Jim Caldwell.

 

Doug Marrone

Marrone, if the Saints move on from Sean Payton, is said to be the top candidate for that gig. If they don’t, the Eagles could take a legitimate look at him.

He is one of a few candidates they seem to be considering with NFL head coaching experience. Marrone was a near .500 (15-17) coach in two years with the Bills before he literally quit on his team in response to an ownership change. Jeffrey Lurie ain’t selling the team, but he’d be wise to not put that provision in Marrone’s contract.

Marrone’s Buffalo teams thrived in rushing offense as long as they were actually running the ball (1st in attempts and 2nd in yards in 2013, 20th and 25th in 2014), while his defensive strengths were takeaways, and lockdown passing coverage.

Doug “The Quitter” Marrone spent last season serving as the Asst. HC/OL coach for the Jacksonville Jags, where his offensive line allowed 51 sacks, 4th worst in the league, though rookie QBs get sacked more than Idaho potatoes.

Never mind:

 

Hue Jackson

Hue Jackson had a lackluster run coaching the Raiders (is there any other kind?) to an 8-8 record after starting the 2011 season 7-4. But since then he’s helped evolve the Cincinnati Bengals from a perpetual also-ran to a legitimate contender.

In his two years leading the Cincy offense, the Bengals improved drastically in points, lost fewer turnovers, had more passing touchdowns and points per drive, and stayed in the top five in rushing touchdowns. He was also the runaway star of Hard Knocks in 2013.

As of yet, Jackson has been linked to the 49ers (who have requested an interview) and Browns, with no real reported contact between him and the Eagles.

 

Dirk Koetter

Dirk Koetter joins Doug Marrone in the “old white guys with reading glasses” portion of the candidate pool:

Just last night, word came out that Buccaneers offensive coordinator would be interviewed by the Eagles. Koetter and Marrone also fill out the “guys the Eagles were interested in three years ago” bracket. Call it The Roseman Rule.

Since not being hired in 2013, Koetter has spent time with the Falcons and Bucs. He got production out of pass-heavy and run-focused offenses (in Atlanta and in Tampa, respectively). In 2014, with Atlanta, his offense was third in passing attempts and fifth in yards. This season, in Tampa, they were eighth in rushing attempts and fifth in yards. He’s not a one trick coach.

 

Sean McDermott

Sean McDermott is interesting. He’s got experience coaching in Philadelphia, under Jeffrey Lurie. He’s helped a Carolina Panthers defense flirt with an undefeated season. And yet, there’s been nothing linking him to the job.

He called into 97.5 this morning to talk to a fawning Anthony Gargano in what felt like a coded job interview. He gabbed about relating to players, talking to them, dealing with the “modern athlete,” etc. like they were answers to questions Jeff Lurie hasn’t asked yet.

That’s not to say his resume isn’t impressive. In his seven years as defensive coordinator with the Eagles and Panthers, his teams have finished top-six in turnover ratio four times, top-ten in fewest rushing yards allowed three times, and fewest points allowed twice. He was unceremoniously run out of Philly, but you can make the argument he was the scapegoat. It’s entirely possible we’ll start to hear about Lurie’s interest in McDermott. It’s also possible Lurie knows him, likes him, and thinks he’s not head coach material.

 

Matt Patricia

There’s basically nothing connecting Matt Patricia to the Eagles head coaching job. But with that beard and his engineering background, think of all the shirts we could sell. The Daily News headlines would write themselves. The sports talk takes will be so scorching, losers will take pictures of the temperature read-out in their car for social media.

The Patriots, bolstered by their offense, have been top ten in fewest points allowed for all of Patricia’s tenure as defensive coordinator. They’ve also consistently had the number nine rushing defense in the league (except that one year they were 30th). So is he a good candidate? Sure. Is he the best candidate? Probably not. Non-football background to scare the lifers? Yup. Beard? You betcha.

 

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