The Eagles’ New Offensive Coordinator: Hydra
The new-look Offensive Counsel pairs internal promotions with incoming personalities like a fine wine.
If you ever wondered how Octo-Mom felt when instead of one kid, eight babies popped out, wonder no more: The Eagles new Offensive Coordinator is a whole slew of names you probably have not heard before.
The Eagles announced this week that in lieu of a traditional Offensive Coordinator, they will structure their coaching system as a counsel, a hive-mind of diverse offensive approaches aimed at birthing a complex, unpredictable, and explosive new Eagles attack unit.
Doug Pederson will, obviously, remain at the helm as Head Coach and Play Caller, but below him will be a Run Game Coordinator and Pass Game Coordinator, fracturing the OC role in two. Two more positions, yet to be named, will be added to make space for new hires Rick Scangarello and Andrew Breiner.
Let’s take a look at the many heads of the new Hydra.
Press Taylor: QB Coach/Pass Game Coordinator
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Taylor will remain in his role as QB Coach, but will gain responsibility as the Pass Game Coordinator. A lot of folks on Twitter want Howie’s head for this one, triggered by the elevation of another Pederson assistant into a quasi-OC role. Rest assured: Taylor is no Mike Groh.
Taylor has been around since 2013, one of the few coaches to survive the post-Chip Kelly purge of 2016. He is notoriously detail-oriented, organized, and ambitious, looking more like the Poor Man’s Sean McVay at 32 than a Hokie who was fired by his own dad. Taylor authored the Philly Special, so how much can you really hate him?
Frank Reich, the man we all miss so dearly, wanted to “steal” Taylor from Philly when he departed for Indianapolis, endorsing the young QB coach as a bright young mind with an exciting future. Consider this: for all of our positional woes (CB and WR most notably) these last few years, our quarterbacks have remained both consistent and elite; Wentz, Foles, and McCown, three remarkably different gunslingers, were each able to produce results. Taylor’s ability to optimize the return on a quarterback is proven.
Jeff Stoutland: Offensive Line Coach/Run Game Coordinator
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Stoutland will also remain, christened as the Wunderkind of the run game beside Taylor. Stoutland’s elevation has been met with decidedly less backlash given his more extensive background. Stoutland was the Offensive Line coach under Nick Saban, helping guide the Crimson Tide to back-to-back BCS Championship Titles in 2011 and 2012. He has a Super Bowl ring with the Eagles and deserves at least some credit for elevating Brandon Brooks to league-wide recognition as the best Guard and perhaps Lineman in the league.
He also wrote this play himself.
Duce Staley: Assistant Head Coach/Running Back Coach
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Snubbed again. Staley has been on the cusp of a Coordinator gig for years now, and was widely talked about as a possible OC for the Eagles this year. Instead, he will remain as the RB Coach while taking on some more responsibility as Doug’s immediate Assistant.
Frustrated fans aptly point to his ability to produce results with the likes of Boston Scott, Josh Adams, and Cory Clement while the Eagles RB corps has remained a point of tumult. Howie has let the leading rusher walk every year for half a decade, and Staley has still managed to execute. He will remain a valuable asset to the team, but an enticing offer from another team could see him depart.
Rick Scangarello: TBD
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Scangarello (and Breiner, up next) does not have an official title yet, but will be a part of Pederson’s new Offensive Counsel as well. Scangarello has been a Kyle Shanahan fanboy his entire career, dropping everything in 2015 to take a glorified internship with the Falcons to observe the now-49ers Head Coach. Last year he was the Offensive Coordinator for the Broncos, where he coached three quarterbacks en route a bottom-five finish in nearly every major offensive statistic.
Hiring Scangarello is concerning given his recent abomination of a season. Broncos Twitter apparently hates the guy, and anyone who has seen Dan Patricia’s Lions knows coaching trees do not mean equal production. He credits Shanahan’s guidance on his ability to create explosive plays and utilize aggressive schemes instead of playing each down to stay “on schedule” to score, which could pair well with Pederson’s style, but he lacks the results for this to inspire confidence.
Andrew Breiner: TBD
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Like Scangarello, Breiner’s title is still up in the air. He hails from Mississippi State as a Passing Game Coordinator and QB Coach, most notably responsible for Chase Edmonds of the Arizona Cardinals. He has followed Joe Moorhead’s career from school to school, leaving him behind only when Moorhead took the Oregon OC role.
Breiner is another unproven coach, and seeing Chase Edmonds at the top of someone’s resume does not bode well.
Aaron Moorehead: WR Coach
Before I say anything else, this guy looks like fi a store brand Vince Vaughn had a child with Mack Hollins:
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Tell me I’m wrong.
Moorehead, a former Colt, and Super Bowl Champion was never elite but is credited with developing Josh Reynolds and Christian Kirk at A&M. This hire looks like a downgrade from when Groh was initially brought in as the receivers coach, but for a role that has been a revolving door for five years now, Moorehead just needs to keep his job into 2021 to be the most successful receiver coach we have had for a while.
All in all, the new-look coaching scheme could revolutionize how this offense makes decisions. The Eagles seem to be following the NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers in utilizing the Counsel approach, an equally exciting and nerve-wracking change. Best case scenario, the new personalities bring fresh ideas to a stale offense, while the remaining personnel continues to tailor schemes to optimize team chemistry.
The result could be a complex offense we have lacked since Reich’s departure, but too many cooks in the kitchen could spell disaster. Only time will tell if the Octo-Mom approach will preserve the “new norm.”
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