Pros and cons of Eagles' head coaching candidates

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So far the Eagles have interviewed six candidates to be their next head coach. 

And, according to CSNPhilly's Reuben Frank, that's it for now (see story)

That means there's a very good chance one of those candidates will be the Eagles' next head coach. One of those candidates, Adam Gase, is already off the market after he became the Dolphins' head coach. 

There are five candidates left. We'll look at the pros and cons of each of them — a solid idea from CSNBayArea — going in the order in which they interviewed: 

Duce Staley 

Pros: Staley, 40, clearly knows and understands Philadelphia. He played here for many years and stayed on the staff when Chip Kelly took over. The organization thinks very highly of Staley and those who work with him really seem to respect him. The last head coach couldn't — or chose not to — relate to players. That wouldn't be a problem for Staley. 

Cons: While Staley has NFL experience, he just doesn't have that much coaching experience. And it would be a big jump from running backs coach to head coach. Sure, Andy Reid was a position coach before the Eagles hired him, but he was a quarterbacks coach. Another con: If you believe Chip Kelly, Staley was in charge of the Eagles' running backs rotation, which became an issue this season with division of carries.

Pat Shurmur 

Pros: Shurmur, 50, has a lot of NFL experience and certainly has a history in Philadelphia. Shurmur also has head coaching experience from his short stint with the Browns. (The last time the Eagles hired a head coach with NFL head coaching experience was Marion Campbell in 1983.) Shurmur did a really nice job as the interim coach in the last game of the year and showed what kind of offense he might run. His players respect him, and if the brass likes the idea of keeping Sam Bradford — which we're not sure of — making Shurmur the head coach or keeping him as OC would be the safest bet. 

Cons: Well, depending on how you feel about Bradford, his connection to Shurmur could be a con. See, if Shurmur gets hired, that link would probably marry the Eagles to Bradford for a while. Even though Kelly was calling the shots, Shurmur was associated with this 2015 team that fell well short of expectations. And while Shurmur was a head coach before, his time in Cleveland didn't go very well — he finished with a 9-23 record in two seasons. 

Ben McAdoo

Pros: McAdoo, 38, is an interesting name. He's had success in his relatively short NFL career with the Packers and Giants. Most recently, he helped guide Eli Manning to two successful personal seasons. McAdoo's former players, including Aaron Rodgers, have talked highly of the rising coach. In 2013, when Rodgers went down, McAdoo still helped coach the Packers to an NFC North title. In his first year in New York, the Giants jumped from the NFL's 28th-best offense to 10th. (Of course, the addition of Odell Beckham Jr. helped.)

Cons: Aside from the Eagles and Giants, we haven't heard much noise around McAdoo, which could be a potential red flag. While he's thought of highly by those who have worked with him, his youth and smaller sample size of experience makes him more of an unknown. And he's had success with Rodgers and Manning, two established quarterbacks. He's worked under two coaches — Mike McCarthy and Tom Coughlin — with offensive backgrounds. So he's learned from two good ones, but how much of a role has he really had? 

Update: The Giants have tabbed McAdoo as their next head coach (see Wednesday's coaching tracker).

Doug Pederson

Pros: Pederson, 47, has been learning from Andy Reid for years. If Jeff Lurie wants to try to recreate Reid's tenure in Philly, Pederson might be the best bet. This season, he's taken over a portion of the play-calling duties, something Reid wouldn't allow him to do if he didn't have a ton of trust in him. Pederson's history with Shurmur might allow for Shurmur to return as offensive coordinator if the team's brass wants him back. That would then give them a better chance to retain Bradford. 

Cons: It's Doug Pederson and most people associate him with some of the worst quarterback play we've ever seen in Philadelphia. That probably shouldn't matter but it feels like it does. The Chiefs' offense kinda stunk this year; they ranked 27th in the league. He's learned from Reid, but like with McAdoo, it's fair to ask how much of a role he plays in the offense. We've seen some of Reid's former offensive assistants fail after leaving him (see story).

Tom Coughlin

Pros: If there's one thing the 69-year-old Coughlin has, it's experience. He's been an NFL head coach in two stops and has two Super Bowl rings with the Giants. Coughlin found success early in his two previous head coaching stops — he had the expansion Jaguars in the AFC Championship game in their second year and won 11 games with the Giants in his second year in New York. Also, did we mention the two Super Bowl rings? 

Cons: He's old. It might seem unfair to use that against him, but it's fair to wonder a lot about Coughlin because of his age. Is he going to be fully invested and for how long? Is he still as sharp? Can he relate to his players at all? Another thing, the Giants haven't been good for a while and it might be hard to justify hiring a guy who was owned by the former coach (Kelly) over the last three years.

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