It’s a rare thing when the Eagles hire a head coach. Jeffrey Lurie made sure to point that out after he fired — oops, released — Chip Kelly. The owner reminded everyone he’d previously done this three times since buying the team. This will mark the fourth. That ought to add an element of excitement and intrigue to the process. It ought to, but it hasn’t.
The quest for a new coach — despite the “jump start” Lurie wanted to get by getting rid of Kelly with a game left in the regular season — has lurched along. According to a recent report, the Eagles have now “turned their attention” to Tom Coughlin. It’s already been a sprawling search. The timing and the length isn’t the issue. It doesn’t matter if it takes hours or days or weeks to find a new front man. What matters very much is that the Eagles find someone they really want to be the headliner on Philadelphia’s biggest stage. That’s part of the concern here. Are the Eagles actually giddy about Coughlin or any of the potential candidates? Are you?
The last time the Eagles went looking for a new head coach it was pretty obvious to everyone who they wanted. Lurie admitted as much. After he fired — damn, sorry, released — Kelly, Lurie recalled how Kelly had been the top choice for the Eagles and a lot of other teams a few years back. That’s true. There was quite a lot of buzz surrounding Kelly. So much buzz, in fact, that people tracked his progress online as his plane flew from left coast to right. And in between, while Kelly was deciding whether to decamp Eugene in favor of Philly, there was buzz about Gus Bradley.
In retrospect, neither of those men did very well with the opportunities they were given. Buzz doesn’t guarantee success. But neither does the negative image of that picture. A lack of enthusiasm about Coughlin and the current candidates hardly means the eventual hire will or won’t march the Eagles to the Super Bowl. What we have this time around is a process that feels light on the usual Eagles fan energy. That’s kind of a bummer. Part of what makes this town interesting and entertaining is the almost unyielding mania that surrounds all things football. This? This feels more like resignation. The Eagles will hire someone and ... ho hum, that will be that.
The Eagles have already interviewed six candidates. Of those, Adam Gase is off the board; he signed with the Dolphins. So is Ben McAdoo; he’s staying with the Giants. Duce Staley is a long shot. That leaves Pat Shurmur, Doug Pederson and Coughlin. Try to contain yourself after reading those names.
Let’s go in order. Shurmur spent the last three years being the offensive coordinator in name if not in function. Kelly called the plays. Shurmur sat in the booth. For a while he was in charge of telling Kelly whether to challenge plays, but then he stopped doing that, too. One of my favorite things about Shurmur, and this is absolutely true, is that he would frequently wander into the press box and walk around near the buffet 30 minutes or so before home games. Sometimes he would chat with reporters. He’s a nice enough guy. He might be your next head coach.
That leaves Doug Pederson and Coughlin. There’s been a sudden surge in nostalgia for the Andy Reid era, which is ironic given how he left town but probably not that surprising. You can’t have Reid back, but you can have his younger avatar. Coughlin has won two Super Bowls, but the Giants missed the playoffs the last four years, and three of those featured losing records. And he’s 69. But at least he made Eli Manning cry on the way out of New York. That’s something.
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Those are the candidates for now. Those might be the candidates full stop. If you’re super excited about any of them, good for you. Enjoy it. As for the rest of you, you’re probably faking it.
The reaction from a vocal segment of the fan base this week has been fascinating. And telling. Usually you get so many hot takes with a coaching search that you have to operate the radio dial while wearing oven mitts. This search has been different. Funny, but different. And confused.
On Monday, WIP ran a poll asking people if they wanted Coughlin to be the new head coach. It was a binary question. The majority, nearly 70 percent, said no. On Tuesday, WIP ran a different poll asking people who exactly they want to become the Eagles' next head coach. The results were fantastic. In order: McAdoo (9 percent), Staley (11 percent), Pederson (15 percent), Shurmur (24 percent — he must have voted early and often) and ... drum roll ... Coughlin (39 percent). That’s tremendous. A day after voting no on Proposition Coughlin, the Eagles’ electorate reversed course and gave him a plurality of support.
But as temperature taking goes, my favorite occurred on PST the other day. The question: Would any of these candidates be an upgrade over Chip Kelly? More than 19,500 people responded. Of them, 52 percent voted no.
Excited yet?