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Eagles Need to Hire the Offensive Coordinator Who is Most Committed to Running the Hell Out of the Football
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It feels like a dozen names have been linked to the Eagles’ offensive coordinator job. Among the completed interviews, according to reports, are Brian Daboll, Josh Grizzard, Zac Robinson, Mike Kafka, and James Robert Cooter. There’s also rumored interest in Bobby Slowik, Mike McDaniel, and Charlie Weis, Jr.
Whomever it ends up being, you must first ask yourself to define what the Birds are. They are a running team with a stout defense. In the last three Super Bowl seasons, 2017, 2022, and 2024, the Eagles have checked all of these boxes at the same time:
- top five in rushing yards
- top six in rushing attempts
- at least 4.6 yards per carry
- top 10 in QB scrambles
- a rushing percentage inside the top 12 (anywhere from 44% to 55%)
- at least 45 explosive rushes
- fewer than 21 opponent points per game
- opponent third down conversions below 39%
- top 8 in explosive play differential
That’s basically it the philosophy, and it extends beyond the Jalen Hurts era and goes back to the Carson Wentz and Nick Foles Super Bowl season, when Jim Schwartz had the defense humming and LeGarrette Blount, Jay Ajayi, Corey Clement, and Wendell Smallwood were part of a 2,000-yard stable. Even in the NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl 52, when Foles went on the heater to end all heaters, the Eagles ran for 274 yards and two touchdowns on 57 carries. They had some key runs in those games that kind of fall by the wayside now because of how good Nick was slinging the rock.
Five years later, with Hurts running the show, the blueprint was still the same. Say what you will about Miles Sanders, but he ran for 1,269 yards that 2022 season, and Hurts added 760 with 13 scores. Jalen capped it off with 15 carries for 70 yards and three touchdowns in a Super Bowl 57 that the Eagles would have won if the defense had made a single play against the Chiefs.
But the gist is that all three of these teams had the same DNA. Establish the run, control the clock, play good defense, win the turnover battle. Isn’t that the same blueprint for 2026? You are getting Landon Dickerson, Lane Johnson, and Cam Jurgens back at full health. Tyler Steen has more experience under his belt and Jordan Mailata gets a full winter off. If you’re like me and think the biggest issue in 2025 was the offensive line, then why wouldn’t re-establishing the run game be priority #1? It’s the reason they won it all in 2024.
That’s why the talk of finding a coordinator to “elevate” Jalen Hurts’ game feels somewhat off-base. Of course you want more out of the QB, but we don’t expect him to turn into a mid-career pocket passer, right? He throws a nice deep ball and high-percentage stuff outside of the hashes, but he’s not going to be a 4,000-yard passer and shouldn’t be anyway. He’s always been his best as a dual-threat QB with designed runs, scrambles, RPO, and the like mixed in. Add to the equation his high-level ball protection and smart decision making and that’s why he’s been to two Super Bowls and played extremely well in both.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it; just let it get healthy and commit to it. You don’t have to change what doesn’t need changing. You need to re-establish what you’re good at, and that’s why McDaniel, in particular, is an intriguing option. That 2023 Dolphins team had two 800 yard rushers in Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane, who scored 26 combined touchdowns. And they were doing it in creative ways, with pre-snap motion, misdirection, off-tackle runs with wham blocks and pulling linemen and all of that. Don’t tell me Saquon Barkley and contract-year Tank Bigsby as a 1-2 punch wouldn’t be really fun to watch in that system, assuming McDaniel would be allowed to run it.
Throw in a QB who can scoot with his legs and take the occasional deep shot to DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown, if he sticks around, and that’s really badass to think about, is it not?
The Eagles can go in a lot of directions with this OC hire, but they need to start by accepting who they are and committing to it. Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman are pragmatic executives and likely already know this.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com