Checks and Balances? Why the U.S. Government Says the Eagles Coaching Staff Will Work
The Constitution of the United States was initially signed on September 17, 1787, in none other than Philadelphia, PA.
James Madison, one of the three men that constructed the U.S. Constitution, had intentions of a system that would divide the powers and responsibilities of the government between three branches.
The three branches of the new government would become known as Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. The purpose of this system was to ensure that no one branch becomes more powerful than the next. This approach has helped build America from the ground up and now it will help build the Philadelphia Eagles offense for the foreseeable future.
After a month of interviews, searching near and far the Philadelphia Eagles choose the Checks and Balances approach. Instead of hiring an official offensive coordinator, Philadelphia built an environment where multiple minds can aid Doug Pederson at the same time.
In his argument, Madison emphasized, “If men were angels no government would be necessary if angels were to govern men neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.”
And while Doug Pederson is as talented as they come in terms of coaches, he certainly is no angel. After all, an angel would have had their team prepared to head into Dallas after guaranteeing a victory.
If the Philadelphia Eagles coaching staff were the United States Government, here’s what it would look like.
Executive Branch
Photo:
Doug Pederson: Head Coach // President
President Pederson? It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Anyway, the President of the United States is known as “the leader of men” coincidentally, a phrase Coach Pederson knows all too well. The President is most notably tasked with enforcing the laws created by the Legislative Branch. You’d be able to find many similarities when you discuss Doug Pederson’s job as head coach under the new offensive coaching personnel to the job of the President of the United States.
Last season we saw the toll having minimal help took on Pederson, to the point he essentially took over Carson Walsh’s job midway through the season. When Pederson led the Eagles to their first Super Bowl in franchise history he did so with an experienced, well-rounded group of coaches surrounding him. While it is unknown how much success Philadelphia will have with this current group, it certainly helps the team more than it hurts.
Legislative Branch
Photo:
Rich Scangarello: Senior Offensive Assistant // Senate
The Legislative Branch is mostly composed of members of the United States Congress. The U.S. Congress is separated into two “chambers“, one of which is the Senate. One of the more interesting details about the Senate is how their members are expected to make decisions; experiences and wisdom serve as a key, going against what is viewed as norms to the general public. This is where Rich Scangarello becomes important. The former Broncos offensive coordinator was the mastermind behind Drew Lock’s success over the final five games. Scangarello is mostly known for the time he spends working under Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco and Atlanta.
After all of the clamoring for an outside mind, wishes have been fulfilled. Instead of a person who has been molded under the Doug Pederson/Andy Reid tree, the Eagles finally have someone who can insert a new breed of life into the offense. While Scangarello’s stint in Denver only lasted a year for a multitude of reasons, the one thing that many around the league praise are his play design abilities. With the pressure of calling plays falling on the shoulders of Doug Pederson, Scangarello’s most important job is helping install and modify different offensive concepts.
Press Taylor: Passing Games Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach // House of Representatives
Photo:
The House of Representatives is the second “chamber” of the U.S. Congress. The House is most notably known as someone who works closely and is most responsive to the opinions of the public. The public in this instance is those inside the Eagles franchise, is known to think quite highly of Press Taylor. After spending a few years with the Chip Kelly regime, Taylor has essentially been groomed by Pederson, working with him for each of his four years in Philadelphia. After spending time as the quality control coach, using his days researching unique plays and schemes around the league Taylor moved up to quarterbacks coach with the departure of John DeFilippo.
Working with Taylor, quarterback Carson Wentz saw career highs in passing yards and completion percentage during that time. Now with a slight promotion, Taylor will take over as the teams Passing Game Coordinator, a position formally held by Mike Groh. While it is generally unknown exactly what Taylor will bring to the position, his time under the Chip Kelly system, mixed with concepts learned from Pederson’s West Coast system, maybe Taylor has another “Philly Special” up his sleeves.
Photo:
Andrew Breiner: Pass Game Analyst // Senate
As we mentioned earlier the Senate has an obligation to makes decisions based on experience and wisdom. Insert Andrew Breiner the new Pass Game Analyst, who’s background should be something that’s intriguing to Eagles fans. Breiner is the root of the coaching tree that belongs to Joe Moorhead.
For those who don’t know Moorhead, let’s just say he didn’t start the emphasis of the rushing attack but he has certainly elevated the importance of it throughout the years. His work with Saquon Barkley may be his most notable, but the fact that his quarterbacks even got involved in the fun may be second to none. Under Moorhead, Nick Fitzgerald lead Mississippi State with 1100+ yards/18 touchdowns during the 2018 season and at Penn State, Trace McSorley had 500+ yards /11 touchdowns in 2017.
Breiner followed Moorhead for years, starting at Fordham, all the way to his days at Mississippi State recently. Imagine a Scangarello/Breiner offensive concept using Carson Wentz on the roll and outside of the pocket. Don’t you just get goosebumps? Especially knowing Doug Pederson acknowledged it was something he failed to do and is the place Wentz is at his best. You have to commend the Eagles, while they didn’t make a splash, the fact that they added multiple coaching staff members from outside of the general perspective is certainly ideal. With experience as the QB coach at four out of five of his coaching stops prior to the Philadelphia hire, Breiner presents Pederson with another much-needed set of eyes to help see things differently.
Judicial Branch
Photo:
Duce Staley: Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs Coach // Supreme Court
Many would consider the Judicial Branch the lesser of the three branches. The Branch became prevalent in 1789 due to the Judicial Act, which set up the federal court system and delivered the guidelines of the U.S. Supreme Court. This feels so relatable to Duce Staley. Despite the time spent with the team as a running back and almost equivalent time with the team as the running backs coach, Staley just doesn’t seem to be viewed highly among the Eagles coaching staff. This could be a product of the team realizing that quarterback Carson Wentz was most successful when he had a room full of coaches who were former quarterbacks or made a career out of coaching them.
Still, someone with Staley’s background with the team would get more consideration during coaching searches. While Staley may hold the assistant head coach title, that is more of a name than an actuality, giving him the title after the team passed upon him for the offensive coordinator job in 2018.
To the Eagles defense, while Staley could/should be in line for a promotion, the work he has done with the running back position since his arrival in 2013 has been a prominent part of the team’s success. Philadelphia ranks fifth in the league in rushing offense (127.9 YPG) since the aforementioned arrival in 2013. He was a major influence on LeSean McCoy, Bryce Brown, Corey Clement, and most recently Rookie of the Year candidate Miles Sanders.
Photo:
Jeff Stoutland: Offensive Line Coach/Run Game Coordinator // Supreme Court
While Duce Staley is key in the development of the running back unit, the way that they are employed falls solely on Jeff Stoutland. After a game against the Buffalo Bills earlier in the season former offensive coordinator, Mike Groh was asked about how the team assembled the game plan for the running game and what role Stoutland had in the preparation.
In response, Groh said “So Stout organizes the run game and like we do with everything upstairs. We’re collaborating on all passes and all runs and we go in and we work through the tape and we go through that process. We exhaust the tape by personnel, by formation, by the situation; all situations that come up, and then we put our plan together.”
Stoutland has done a phenomenal job not only in his job as run game coordinator but also as the offensive line coach since being hired to the role in 2013. The work Stoutland has done with the likes of Lane Johnson and Evan Mathis is well known, but his most impressive accomplishment may be how he has developed Issac Seumalo and Halapoulivaati Vaitai into solid NFL starters. Stoutland is known as one of the most well respected offensive lines coaches from his time in the NFL and at the collegiate level with 33 years of experience.
Even the great Alabama head coach Nick Saban tried to pry him from Philadelphia a few years back. With Stoutland spearheading the rushing attack and the offensive line Doug Pederson has always had one less thing to worry about.
Photo:
Aaron Moorehead: Wide Receivers Coach // Federal Courts
Another year, another wide receivers coach in Philadelphia, the teams fifth in five years. The Eagles are hoping that the hire of Aaron Moorehead will provide stability at the position for years to come. Moorehead, a former wide receiver himself, spent five seasons with the Indianapolis Colts (2003-2007) playing beside Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne catching balls from Peyton Manning. After retiring, Moorehead got into coaching making stops at New Mexico, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M, and most recently Vanderbilt. What is key about Moorehead’s time at the collegiate level is how he has developed a few solid groups of wide receivers during his time. In 2018, Vanderbilt wide receiver Kalija Lipscomb led the SEC in receptions (87) and finished the year with 916 yards and nine touchdowns.
During his time at Texas A&M, Moorehead worked magic with now Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Christian Kirk. While at Texas A&M, Kirk made 234 catches for 2,856 yards and 26 touchdowns in three years.
Kirk recently was asked about the hire of Moorehead to Philadelphia and the young stud gave some advice to the Eagles receivers about playing for Moorehead: “people might think all of a sudden a good coach goes to Philly and all their wide receivers are automatically going to be world-class receivers and go for 1,000 yards. But that’s not going to just happen. But if they buy in and listen to him and work hard at their craft, they’re going to get better. If they buy in, I know he’s going to get the most out of them.”
Maybe Moorehead can be the glimmer of hope the Philadelphia Eagles receiving core needs.
Featured Image: Michael Ainsworth/ The Associated Press
Discover more from Philadelphia Sports Nation
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Categorized:Eagles