For the first time in what seems like a hundred years, the Eagles have a new special teams coordinator.

Dave Fipp did a great job for a long time, but the Birds’ third unit dropped off a bit in recent seasons and it was probably time for a change. So off he goes to Detroit, and in comes Michael Clay, who was an assistant special teams coach and defensive quality control guy under Chip Kelly.

He spoke on day three of training camp, and I clipped some quotes for you:

On Jalen Reagor and punt returning:

Looking back at Jalen’s college film, he’s a dynamic athlete. It’s just him getting comfortable. Out here we’ve been to able to shoot some JUGS to him (the passing machine), let him get comfortable in a short area. The big thing for him is just seeing the ball. We’re trying to give him as much live (work) from Arryn (Siposs). But so far Jalen’s done a really good job. All of the returners have done a good job – Greg (Ward), DeVonta (Smith), Michael Walker, Kenny Gainwell, Boston (Scott). They’ve done a really unbelievable job so far in practice catching balls off the JUGS and live legs. We’re really happy where they are right now. 

Will Smith/Gainwell/etc return punts?


That’s up to a conversation between myself and Nick and Howie. For right now, we’re just trying to get everybody as comfortable (as possible), because you never know what’s going to happen.

Does he have a personal philosophy on ball security vs. big play ability?

I think the more options, the better. You never know what’s going to happen in terms of a game. But if we feel good and have two or three guys that can catch and field punts in the the plus-50 and secure it, I think that’s really what we’re trying to strive for out here in practice, get everyone comfortable as possible catching open-field punts and in the plus-50. The more work we can get, and Arryn can do some stuff with the ball that helps the returns out a lot, so it’s not just the returners or certain players. It’s about all of us getting familiar and catching the ball. 

Why did Jake Elliott’s production drop last season? 

You can go through the history and everyone has a bad year. Jake is still a very, very good kicker in this league. Just being around him, he’s got a live leg. He’s able to hit a lot of plus-50 balls. But we’re really, consistently from 49 and under is where we want to make our money. It’s about getting him back to where he knows he can be at, more than anything else.

Here’s the full video for your viewing pleasure: