Eagles Eyeing Demarcus Robinson
After letting some of their regulars walk in free agency last year, the Chiefs have more auxiliary performers set to hit the market in March. A historic payment to Patrick Mahomes and a possible Chris Jones franchise tag will force the Super Bowl champions to prioritize come free agency.
Kendall Fuller, Emmanuel Ogbah, Bashaud Breeland and Demarcus Robinson are among Kansas City’s notable non-Jones UFAs. Robinson appears to have a suitor with a greater receiver need than the Chiefs, who still have Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and Mecole Hardman under contract.
The Eagles are interested in the four-year veteran wideout, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer notes. They brought Robinson in for one of their 2016 pre-draft visits, but the Florida prospect went to the Chiefs in that year’s fourth round. Considering the Chiefs’ front-burner issues, Robinson’s second contract looks likely to come from another team.
During Hill’s injury-related absence early in the season, Robinson became a key Mahomes target. Although the 25-year-old receiver caught 32 passes for a career-high 449 yards, he delivered his most notable audition during a six-reception, 172-yard, two-touchdown day in Oakland. During Mahomes’ two years as the Chiefs’ starter, Robinson totaled 54 catches and eight touchdowns.
After injuries to DeSean Jackson, Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor, the Eagles deployed a skeleton-crew receiving corps during the season’s stretch run. Both Jackson and Jeffery are likely to return, thanks to big 2020 guarantees. Agholor will probably depart, per McLane. The Eagles figure to be targeting wideouts in the draft as well, but it appears they will consider Robinson on a mid-level pact. Doug Pederson was already in Philadelphia by the time Robinson arrived in Kansas City, but bringing in a longtime Andy Reid weapon would be a logical fit for the ex-Chiefs OC.
Eagles Hire Darren Sproles, Brent Celek For Personnel Roles
The Eagles added former pass-rusher Connor Barwin to their front office last month, and now they’re adding two other high profile former players. Philadelphia is hiring former running back Darren Sproles and former tight end Brent Celek, according to Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. 
Bowen adds that they both got the title of personnel consultant. Sproles announced back in December that he’d be retiring after the year. The legendary pass-catching back spent the last six seasons of his career with the Eagles, and finished his career fifth all-time in all-purpose yards. Celek was an Eagle all the way through, spending all 11 seasons of his pro career in Philly from 2007-17. He retired after winning Super Bowl LII with the team.
The Eagles also made some other staffing moves, hiring strength and conditioning coach Ted Rath away from the Rams to be their new director of sports performance. Rath gained some fame as Sean McVay’s ‘get-back’ coach, and was later charged with sexual battery before being acquitted. A source told Bowen that the team did their due diligence, and felt comfortable with Rath’s explanation and acquittal.
Philly also promoted exec Jeremiah Washburn to the role of player personnel director. Interestingly, he’ll also serve in a coaching role as a “senior defensive assistant.” As Bowen points out, it’s a bit of an unusual arrangement for someone to have a scouting and coaching role at the same time. They also rounded out their offensive coaching staff, hiring Aaron Moorehead as receivers coach. He previously had been the receivers coach at Vanderbilt. The Eagles announced yesterday they wouldn’t hire an offensive coordinator.
Eagles Won’t Hire Offensive Coordinator
After all the chatter about the Eagles’ offensive coordinator vacancy, it turns out the job won’t be filled at all. After the Eagles bumped up quarterbacks coach Press Taylor and brought Rich Scangarello into the fold, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (Twitter link) heard on Wednesday that Doug Pederson will call the plays in 2020. Then, on Thursday, the Eagles made the no-OC plan official with a press release.
The Eagles’ search for an OC began nearly one month ago when they sacked Mike Groh. The move was questioned by some, particularly since the injury bug pretty much wiped out his group of wide receivers. DeSean Jackson, Alshon Jeffery, and Nelson Agholor were all banged up last year, forcing them to lean on the likes of Greg Ward, Robert Davis, and Deontay Burnett down the stretch. Still, it wasn’t enough for Groh to get a reprieve. After Groh got the heave-ho, the Eagles considered Ravens quarterbacks coach James Urban, USC’s Graham Harrell, and others as potential replacements.
The offense is Pederson’s bread and butter, so he feels confident in his ability to bring them back to glory. And, with Taylor staying put and Scangarello joining the staff, he’ll have plenty of experience and knowhow on hand to guide quarterback Carson Wentz. Wentz had something of an up-and-down year under center – the end result was a 9-7 record, a short stay in the playoffs, and just 27 passing touchdowns, less than the 33 he notched in his injury-shortened 2017 campaign.
This offseason, the Eagles will have upwards of $40MM in cap room and the No. 21 overall pick in the first round. That should give them ammunition to fortify the offense, though they might not have the flexibility to move on from Jeffery or Jackson.
Eagles Promote Press Taylor
The Eagles’ revamped coaching staff is starting to come together. This week, the Eagles promoted quarterbacks coach Press Taylor by tacking on the title of passing game coordinator, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. The club is also set to hire former Broncos offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello for a staff position, Pelissero hears.
It’s not immediately clear what position Scangarello will occupy, or what this all means for the Eagles’ own OC vacancy. Scangarello served as the Broncos’ OC in 2019, but the results were not pretty. After finishing out as the No. 14 team in offensive DVOA in 2018, they regressed to 26th in the NFL. Still, as we’ve seen before, teams aren’t always looking at a coach’s latest results, and Scangarello rolled into Denver with plenty of hype thanks to his previous work in San Francisco.
Taylor, meanwhile, was being considered for the OC position as recently as January 31st. Although he hasn’t been explicitly ruled out for the post, his additional title seems to indicate that he’s no longer in the running for the job. Taylor, 32, has been on the Eagles’ staff since 2013 but has only served as a position coach for the last two years. He is perhaps best known for his role in the Eagles’ legendary “Philly Special” that helped them capture their long-awaited Super Bowl ring.
The Eagles fired Mike Groh just after their early playoff exit, despite previous comments from head coach Doug Pederson indicating that he’d be staying on board. Weeks later, the Eagles are still looking for his replacement.
NFC East Notes: Quinn, Eagles, Giants
The Cowboys have a few significant contract issues on tap. Dak Prescott, Amari Cooper and Byron Jones are free agents, leaving the rest of the team’s crop as clear back-burner mainstays. Perhaps as a result of the high-profile glut atop Dallas’ early-offseason priority list, the team is unlikely to bring back Robert Quinn, Todd Archer of ESPN.com writes. The Cowboys traded for Quinn last year, allowing him to play out the contract he signed as a St. Louis Ram. Quinn, however, enjoyed a bounce-back season in Dallas, recording a team-high 11.5 sacks. That marked the second-most sacks the former All-Pro has recorded in a season. With Quinn only going into his age-30 season, despite being set for his 10th year, he will likely be in line for a nice third contract this offseason.
On the 2020 offseason’s first official day, let’s look at the latest coming out of the NFC East.
- Joe Judge made another key hire to his staff, filling his defensive line coach role. The Giants HC is bringing Penn State defensive line coach Sean Spencer to the NFL, according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. Although Spencer has coached at the college level since 1995, this will be his first NFL gig. Prior to spending the previous six seasons with the Nittany Lions, Spencer coached Vanderbilt’s D-line from 2011-13.
- Staying on the subject of NFC East D-line coaches, former Dolphins defensive coordinator Matt Burke is expected to move from a special defensive assistant role to the Eagles‘ defensive line coach, Tim McManus of ESPN.com notes. Burke, who served as Miami’s DC from 2017-18, joined Doug Pederson‘s staff last year. The Eagles fired previous D-line coach Phillip Daniels in mid-January.
- Philadelphia’s staff may include a college-to-pro promotion. Buzz has formed around the prospect of Vanderbilt wide receivers coach Aaron Moorehead making the move to Philly and becoming the Eagles’ receivers coach, McManus adds. A former Colts wideout in the 2000s, Moorehead has spent the past 11 seasons making moves up the coaching ladder at the college level. He’s coached wideouts at Virginia Tech, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt over the past seven seasons.
- The Eagles, however, recently lost one of their coaches to a college role. Offensive assistant G.J. Kinne accepted Tulsa’s offer to become its offensive coordinator, the program announced. A 31-year-old Tulsa product, Kinne spent one season with the Eagles.
2020 Draft Order
Super Bowl LIV is in the books, which means the order for the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft is set. By virtue of their 31-20 win Sunday night, the Chiefs will have the final pick in the first round. The 49ers dropping to 5-2 in Super Bowls will result in the NFC champions approaching the podium at No. 31.
Here is the full first-round order:
1. Bengals (2-14)
2. Redskins (3-13)
3. Lions (3-12-1)
4. Giants (4-12)
5 Dolphins (5-11)
6. Chargers (5-11)
7. Panthers (5-11)
8. Cardinals (5-10-1)
9. Jaguars (6-10)
10. Browns (6-10)
11. Jets (7-9)
12. Raiders (7-9)
13. Colts (7-9)
14. Buccaneers (7-9)
15. Broncos (7-9)
16. Falcons (7-9)
17. Cowboys (8-8)
18. Dolphins (via Steelers 8-8)
19. Raiders (via Bears 8-8)
20. Jaguars (via Rams 9-7)
21. Eagles (9-7)
22. Bills (10-6)
23. Patriots (12-4)
24. Saints (13-3)
25. Vikings (10-6)
26. Dolphins (via Texans 10-6)
27. Seahawks (11-5)
28. Ravens (14-2)
29. Titans (9-7)
30. Packers (13-3)
31. 49ers (13-3)
32. Chiefs (12-4)
Eagles Interview Press Taylor For OC
The Eagles fired Mike Groh shortly after their first-round playoff loss but have taken their time in an effort to replace him. After three weeks, the position remains unfilled.
An internal candidate received a look for the job, however. Quarterbacks coach Press Taylor interviewed to replace Groh as OC, Tim McManus of ESPN.com reports.
Taylor is just 32 and has only been a position coach for two seasons, moving to the QBs coach role after John DeFilippo defected to the Vikings after the 2017 season. Taylor, though, has been on Philadelphia’s staff since 2013. He is credited with unearthing the “Philly Special” play that became a storied Eagles moment.
Philly’s offensive coordinator role is not as important as the position is elsewhere, with ex-Kansas City OC Doug Pederson calling the Eagles’ plays. But the team has met with USC OC Graham Harrell and had the likes of Jim Caldwell, Kevin O’Connell, Chiefs QBs coach Mike Kafka and Ravens QBs coach James Urban on their radar. Only Caldwell remains unattached. Harrell is staying at USC; the Rams hired O’Connell as their OC. Neither the Chiefs nor Ravens will allow their assistants to interview, with the position not expected to come with play-calling responsibilities.
Eagles Hire Former Falcons DC Marquand Manuel
The Eagles have a new secondary coach. Philly is hiring Marquand Manuel for that role, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
It’s a relatively high profile position coach hiring, as Manuel previously served as Atlanta’s defensive coordinator. After the Falcons’ defense tanked, Dan Quinn fired him following the 2018 season. He spent this past year out of football, and is now resurfacing on Doug Pederson’s staff. Manuel spent eight seasons in the league as a safety before becoming an assistant under Quinn in Seattle and eventually following him to Atlanta.
Philadelphia has seen a good amount of turnover on their coaching staff this offseason, and they’re still searching for a new offensive coordinator. Manuel will be taking over a position group that has been in turmoil the past couple of seasons. The Eagles’ secondary has been plagued by injuries the last two years, and the back-half of their defense has often struggled as a result. Just a few days ago, we heard that they were planning on targeting cornerbacks in free agency, and it sounds like they could overhaul the unit.
Eagles Interview Marquand Manuel
- The Eagles interviewed former Falcons defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel for a role on their staff, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes (on Twitter). They are eyeing the former safety-turned-coach as their secondary coach. Manuel, 40, did not coach this season but spent five years with the Falcons — four of which as either Atlanta’s secondary coach or DC. Dan Quinn fired him after the 2018 season.
Latest On Eagles' Offensive Line
- The Eagles are expected to make major changes to their roster, which could be categorized as aging with numerous starters either north of 30 or set to turn 30 this year. One of the moves will be a switch from Jason Peters to Andre Dillard at left tackle, Zach Berman of The Athletic opines (subscription required). Peters is a free agent and has been Philadelphia’s left tackle since the 2009 season but turned 38 on Thursday.