Not Pressing Enough: Making the Case for Press Taylor
The Philadelphia Eagles need an offensive coordinator after parting ways with Mike Groh after just two seasons.
The recent speculation surrounding Philadelphia is that the team needs an “out of the box” mind in terms of the next person to fill the position.
This makes sense knowing that Groh was promoted from within after a last-minute coaching search; the last thing Eagles fans want to hear is that “*insert name here* has been promoted to the position.” However, what if I told you that everyone from Doug Pederson to Jeffery Lurie were thinking too much and there was a capable replacement already in the house?
Quarterbacks coach Press Taylor is the man for the job, although there seems to be this perception that Taylor isn’t hard enough on Wentz and that the Eagles need someone that will hold the franchise quarterback accountable, not be his friend.
Despite the misconception that Taylor would become a “yes man” for Pederson, the exact opposite would be the likely scenario. Taylor has essentially been groomed for this position his entire life. His dad Sherwood played for the national championship and Super Bowl-winning head coach Berry Switzer at Oklahoma, and also coached there afterward. This led to Press’ older brother Zac, now the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals and widely regarded as one of the brighter offensive minds in the league, to go down the same path as their father. Not to mention Press is a former quarterback himself, once being ranked the number 2 pro-style JUCO quarterback in the country.
The reason Taylor is in Philadelphia, to begin with, is that when Chip Kelly was hired from Oregon to Philadelphia, he asked a few of his colleagues about young, up and coming coaches. Taylor was then referred by Kelly’s offensive line coach who played with his brother Zac at Nebraska.
“Do you know a young coach who would work ridiculously long hours for ridiculously low pay as a quality control coach”
-Chip Kelly ’14 when discussing hiring Press Taylor
If that isn’t enough for you, remember the “Philly Special”? The play from Super Bowl LII that Nick Foles suggested to Doug Pederson? Well, guess where the idea originated, Press Taylor. After Kelly was fired, Taylor was one of the few guys from Kelly’s staff retained. His job was to search film from other teams both collegiate and professional to find different trick plays that could fit the team. This led to former offensive coordinator Frank Reich asking him to give him his favorite five the team could implement.
While it is widely assumed the purpose of this search is to get Doug Pederson a fresh set of eyes, Press Taylor could be exactly what Pederson and the Eagles are looking for. After all, there’s a reason Reich dubbed Taylor as a “rising star” when asked about him before the team’s Super Bowl victory a few years back.
With the amount of time spent researching countless offensive film from all over the place, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Taylor has an innovative mind. This being one of the main reasons Eagles coaches refer to his attention to detail, teaching abilities, and deep knowledge of personnel and how to maximize its abilities as “Press’ Vault.” It also helps that his work with Wentz did lead to him breaking multiple franchise records this past season.
Surely there are much safer options than Press Taylor, who has never been an offensive coordinator in this league. However, a case can certainly be made that the underappreciated quarterbacks coach has earned the right to at least be considered to be the next offensive coordinator.
Featured Image: Aaron Kasinitz/PennLive
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