It’s important that the Eagles hire the right guy as their next defensive coordinator.
It’s more important that they get him some players.
Because I don’t care if Dick LeBeau, Bud Carson or Jim Johnson is your defensive coordinator, if he’s got nothing to work with, he’s got no shot.
And lately, the Eagles just haven’t had very much to work with on the defensive side of the ball.
Johnson is the greatest defensive coach I’ve ever been around, but he had Dawk, Troy, Trott, Hugh, Lito, Asante, Corey, Bobby and Trent. There was a steady pipeline of young talent during his decade here, and having elite talent enabled him to coach the way he wanted. It allowed him to dial up whatever exotic blitz, coverage or alignment made sense at the time.
It all goes hand-in-hand, and if you don’t have the pieces in place, the smartest schemes, the most innovative formations and the fanciest stunts and blitzes won't make a difference.
The Eagles had the pieces in 2017. Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham were at the top of their game. Timmy Jernigan was dominating. Mychal Kendricks, Nigel Bradham and Jordan Hicks before he got hurt gave the Eagles a rare formidable linebacker crew. Jalen Mills played out of his mind, Ronald Darby was solid and Patrick Robinson played better than he has before or since. Rodney McLeod and Malcolm Jenkins were in their prime.
That was a young, fast, aggressive defensive, and with the exception of Hicks, it was a healthy defense. And we all know how that went.
The last few years, Howie Roseman and company just haven’t delivered the talent that this defense needs to function. The last Pro Bowl defensive player the Eagles drafted was Cox in 2012, and years of poor drafting and shaky free agent additions have left the defense void of young talent.
Here’s a list of Eagles every defensive player who started a game this year who’ll be in his 20s on opening day of 2021:
Nickell Robey-Coleman, T.Y. McGill, Javon Hargrave, Alex Singleton, Jalen Mills, Duke Riley, Will Parks, Cre’von LeBlanc, Derek Barnett, Nate Gerry, Marcus Epps, Josh Sweat, Michael Jacquet, K’Von Wallace and Davion Taylor.
There’s your future.
Of that group, Hargrave had a strong second half, Singleton is a high-effort guy, Barnett is functional but might not even be here next year, and Sweat did some good things before getting hurt. The rest are just guys.
Not exactly Dawk, Bobby, Troy, Trott and Hugh.
Jim Schwartz did the best he could with what he had. Which for the last few years was Fletch, Malcolm, B.G. and whatever other healthy bodies he could scrounge up off the practice squad.
You can make the case that Schwartz needs to take some responsibility for the lack of talent on defense because he had a stronger voice in personnel than most defensive coordinators, and that’s fair, although make no mistake, this is Howie Roseman’s roster. He has final say. He built this. And at this point, blame isn’t relevant anyway. Schwartz plans to step away from coaching in 2021, and a new guy is coming in.
All that really matters is that whoever becomes the Eagles’ next defensive coordinator isn’t forced to play cards with half a deck. Gotta do better than Nate Gerry, Rasul Douglas, Nikell Robey-Coleman, Avonte Maddox and Duke Riley.
Graham is 32, Cox, Rodney McLeod and Darius Slay are 30.
What happens when they move on? Who’s left? Where are the stars of the future? The Troys and Bobbys, the Dawks and Trotts of this generation?
They’re not here, and considering Roseman’s recent track record, they’re not on the way, either.
And that’s the scariest thing.
It’ll be fairly easy for the Eagles to find a sharp, innovative defensive coordinator. The real challenge is finding him something to work with.
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January 03, 2021 at 08:11PM
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Finding a new defensive coordinator is the easy part for Eagles - NBC Sports
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