The Eagles are currently on the search for their next offensive coordinator after parting ways with Kevin Patullo following his first year in the role. They’ve spread their search pretty far and wide with over nine interviews requested so far, but it seems their reach fell just short in one rival city. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Philadelphia requested to interview Cowboys offensive coordinator Klayton Adams for the same role with the Eagles but saw their request blocked by Dallas. 
It’s true that teams are allowed to block other teams from hiring away coaches under contract with them in what would be a lateral move elsewhere. It’s fairly common and fully justifiable. There is a slight change in thinking sometimes, though, when it comes to the responsibility of calling plays. While Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer and Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni both come from offensive backgrounds, Schottenheimer calls the offensive plays in Dallas, while Sirianni trusts that role to his offensive coordinator.
Typically, if an offensive coordinator currently serves under a head coach who calls plays for the offense, it is not necessarily considered a lateral move to interview for a job elsewhere in which they would have the opportunity to call plays. The organization usually allows for interviews like that to occur. For instance, Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher (under play-calling head coach Zac Taylor) was permitted to interview with the Buccaneers, where defensive-minded Todd Bowles serves as head coach. In Tennessee, Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich (under play-calling head coach Matt LaFleur) was permitted to interview with the Titans, under defensive-minded Robert Saleh.
The Eagles also requested interviews with current coordinators on the Colts and Bears, knowing that Shane Steichen and Ben Johnson both call the offensive plays for their respective teams. Both requests were reportedly granted, so Philadelphia should soon be able to schedule their eighth and ninth interviews for the offensive coordinator position. Of all the teams not replacing head coaches who saw requests to interview their offensive coordinator who currently does not get to call plays, the Cowboys are the only team to have blocked the requested interview.
Now, this could be plainly due to a fierce divisional rivalry, with strategy provoking a “hands off” response. The other possibility is that the Cowboys truly value Adams and what he brings to an offense that finished with the second-most yards gained in the NFL and the seventh-most points scored. Surely, at some point in his career, Adams will want to earn his wings as an offensive coordinator at some point with the opportunity to call plays, but as someone who has spent most of his career coaching tight ends and offensive line and has never called plays before, he may not quite be ready for that role.
So, for now, Adams will continue to work in his role for the Cowboys with Schottenheimer calling plays for one of the league’s most potent offenses. The Eagles will have to continue searching elsewhere for their next offensive coordinator and play caller.
Wow!
Now Jerry can go on his radio show and brag about how much the Cowboys blocking has improved 🙂
Petty cowboys on living in fear of the Eagles. Sad that Jerry will likely die without any success outside what Jimmy Johnson created on his own.
I mean, did the Eagles actually think that Dallas would grant that request? Either Adams is actually valuable to the Cowboys, or he’s good enough to be useful to a division rival. Philadelphia would do the same to Dallas (as they should).
The Eagles should have been more worried if the Cowboys allowed the request.
Philadelphia let Dallas hire their defensive backs coach as DC so no they wouldn’t.
That’s an upward move. They can’t block that.
Their point isn’t whether you can or can’t block it. It’s whether the Cowboys are being petty. They are.
Yeah, no. The Cowboys love Klayton Adams and truly value what he has brought to the team. In particular, his blocking schemes have been highly successful
Not at all! Why would they let a good coach go to a rival? Eagles fans are being salty
@Floyd by your logic the Eagles shouldn’t have allowed the Cowboys to hire their new DC can’t have it both ways
This is a lateral move, Parker got a promotion! This is not hard to understand
When the head coach is the play caller and the OC is not it is in effect a promotion to go to an OC job where he can call plays. This is not hard to understand.
Its literally a lateral move! He does alot for Dallas and is well respected there! Christian Parker was DB coach that got a promotion in Dallas! Now you understand
Its not a promotion. Both are OC jobs. You don’t like it, take it up with the league rules. In the mean time….waaaa.
It’s not lateral when it’s a play calling opportunity.
Your tears are glorious
@notimportant- A team can’t “let” that happen as it’s impossible for them to block a staff member from a promotion with another team.
@myaccount2 Teams block interviews all the time.
Not sad at all.
Blocking an OC request is living in fear? lol. Should the Cowboys have gone ahead and requested an interview with Fangio for DC? Guarantee Philly would have blocked it.
Typical Cowboys d**k move.
You people are weird. It’s a lateral move.
It’s literally not when you’re getting a play calling opportunity.
Well this story is definitely cooked up to spark some good ol’ Cowboys vitriol. You can practically smell the bias—like the writer typed it wearing an Eagles hoodie and a smug grin. Funny thing is, when Atlanta blocked Dallas from interviewing Ulbrich, the article read like a love letter about how the Falcons ‘treasure’ him. Real sweet and wholesome. But now, suddenly, blocking interview requests is a dastardly, villain-level offense. The kind of thing only the big, bad Cowboys would dare do. Almost like… I don’t know… this is a common practice, but magically becomes a scandal only when it’s Dallas. Nice try Cowboys haters, bless your hearts.
Ulbrich was a DC. This guy is a non play calling OC who would have gotten the opportunity to call plays. There’s a difference.
I’ve got no problem with this. If Dallas was willing to grant the interview I’d be very wary. I don’t want anyone Dallas is willing to let go. If they aren’t good enough to go near .500 and get eliminated early in the playoffs every year..
K.A. did an outstanding job with our running game. It has been much maligned in the years prior and K.A helped get it going a bit. But he doesn’t call plays and I assumed if it was calling plays you had to let them interview if they wanted. T.G tho because he’s running game would have the eagles thriving with Hurts and Saquan. He would be a have been a good pick for them.