A reunion this weekend between the Eagles and Malcolm Jenkins, who left the Birds to rejoin the Saints after six years and a Super Bowl ring in Philadelphia. Looks like he got out just in time, because the Eagles are 3-8-1 and New Orleans hasn’t lost since week three.

Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz really, really likes the Pro Bowl safety and spoke glowingly of the 32 year old in response to what was a rather innocuous question asking what Jenkins meant to him.

Here’s Schwartz’s full response, which was 521 words and lasted three minutes and nine seconds:

“Well, versatility was amazing with Malcolm. He played seven different positions in defense here and he knew all 11. He knew all 11 like a coach. He was a great set of eyes on the field for me. Incredibly honest player. Always did his job. I mean, he was so efficient at doing his job, if he made a mistake it was like once a year. I mean, other players will make a couple mistakes a game. Very, very rarely — like if he did it was like news flash that he had a missed assignment or wasn’t in the right spot.

He was just that player that always did the right thing. He was really good at weathering any storm. Always remained calm. He knew when to turn it up and when to give his fellow teammates confidence.

I’ve thought about a lot over the years of all the great players I’ve coached, and Malcolm goes right up there. He’s probably the smartest player I ever coached, and leadership-wise you take all those players, if he was on that he would probably be elected team captain.

I can’t have any more praise. I get in trouble for praising players. I mean, that guy certainly meant a lot to me personally, to our defense, and our team. He doesn’t play for us anymore. I root like crazy for him 15 games a year, but not going to be rooting for him on Sunday. We’ll try our best to go after him and he’ll try his best to go after us, and that’s the way the NFL is.

But I would say this: I don’t think I’ve ever been around a smarter player. About the only time I’ve ever had in my career — we were playing Seattle last year — he heard the offensive line say something about a look that we had, and it’s the only time I remember him doing this in four years. He came to the sideline and said, ‘Schwartz, next third down call this. I guarantee we’re going to get a sack.’

I had so much trust in him that next third down I called it, and it happened exactly the way that he said, and we got the sack. But it was all just because of what he heard. He heard the offensive line talking about, ‘Hey, next time we get this look this is what we have to do.’ That is rare in a player. That’s rare that a player, No. 1, can understand what the offense is doing so well and can decipher things like that.

Anyway, I’ve probably gone on too long here. I think a player of that stature and career and what he meant to us here deserves that kind of respect. Like I said, not going to be rooting for him on Sunday, but the rest of the time you always root for a guy like Malcolm Jenkins.”

Well, jeez. That’s a great answer. If Jenkins ever writes an autobiography, he can simply lift this quote and use it as the foreword.