The Eagles appear to have serious interest in making Josh McDaniels their new head coach, a potentially stunning turn of events just one week after they fired Doug Pederson.
McDaniels, 44-years old, would come to the Eagles after spending 13 seasons as the offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots, two seasons as the Denver Broncos head coach and one season with the (then) St. Louis Rams.
The decision would certainly be a controversial one in Philadelphia, not only because McDaniels would be coming from the Patriots, but because he would bring a very complicated resume.
So would McDaniels be a good hire? Or is this a move that is going to blow up in the team's face? Here are some of McDaniels' positives and negatives:
POSITIVES:
** Offense is almost always in the top 5
Owner Jeffrey Lurie has been very clear about one thing — he wants a top-five offense. Well, McDaniels certainly has plenty of experience with that. McDaniels’ offense was top five for seven-straight seasons from 2012 to 2018, and was 7th in 2019. Yes, he had Tom Brady, but that is certainly an impressive streak — and something that would without question be a big factor in Lurie hiring McDaniels.
** Has experience calling plays
This is a simple, but important, point. The Eagles having their offensive play caller as their head coach would be huge. If the Eagles hired a defensive head coach, and an elite offensive coordinator to call plays, they would have lost that coach in a year. Now, if McDaniels were to succeed, the Eagles would have him locked in for a long, long time without worrying about him being able to leave.
** Coaches hard
The Eagles love to overcorrect. When their roster was slow in 2019, they went out in 2020 and drafted every single fast receiver they could. Hiring McDaniels would be the same kind of like the same kind of overcorrection. Doug Pederson was more of an easy-going head coach than a strict one. McDaniels will be the exact opposite, something this roster — and quarterback Carson Wentz — could use.
** Worked with Tom Brady, Bill Belichick
When the Eagles hired Doug Pederson they pointed to all of the elite-level head coaches and players he had been around. That can certainly be said for McDaniels as well, as he has spent the majority of his career around arguably the best quarterback (Tom Brady) and head coach (Brian Belichick) of all time. The success of Belichick’s coaching tree has not been great, but spending time around two of the best to ever do it is not a terrible thing.
*** Might have been the best left
The concern around McDaniels is fair — and we’ll get into the negatives below. But even with the concerns there is a strong argument to be made that he was the best candidate left. He has called plays, unlike Eric Bienemy. He has a ton of NFL experience, unlike Joe Brady. He has coached quarterbacks, unlike Duce Staley. There is an argument to be made for Brian Daboll, but if he is indeed staying in Buffalo, McDaniels might have been the best remaining candidate.
NEGATIVES:
** Has only ever succeed in New England
Let’s start with the obvious — McDaniels has only ever succeeded with the Patriots. Even this season, when Tom Brady was in Tampa Bay and Cam Newton was the quarterback, the Patriots offense dropped to 27th. No, the Patriots didn’t have a ton of talent — but neither do the Eagles currently. Brady, meanwhile, is still playing in the playoffs and once again was part of one of the best offenses in the NFL. Working with Brady is a plus, as mentioned above, but it is fair to wonder if McDaniels only had success because he was coaching the best quarterback of all time.
** Failed in Denver
It was a long time ago, but McDaniels first stint as head coach did not go well, as he went 11-17 and didn’t even make it out of his second season with the Broncos. Not only were the Broncos a mess, but it seems McDaniels was not the easiest to work with and didn’t exactly leave Denver on the best of terms. McDaniels is much older now and has a ton more experience, and doesn’t really qualify as a “retread” head coach. But seeing his first attempt go so poorly is certainly concerning.
** Videotaping scandal in Denver
Not only did his first coaching job go poorly, but he managed to get himself into a videotaping scandal when the Broncos were found to be videotaping a San Francisco 49ers practice during the team’s matchup in London. It was found that McDaniels was unaware it was going on, but McDaniels was fined for not reporting the incident immediately. Did McDaniels really not know? We might never truly know, but it certainly isn’t a great look.
** Left the Colts after taking the job
McDaniels could be hired soon. Just ask the Indianapolis Colts how much that would matter. McDaniels was hired by the Colts in 2018, and it was announced he was taking the job by the team. Hours later, however, McDaniels backed out and went back to New England. Chances are McDaniels won’t be doing that again. But combine that with the videotaping scandal, and there is definitely some off-the-field concerns with McDaniels.
** Will he work with Howie Roseman?
This is the obvious question for any candidate. McDaniels is coming from an organization that likes to do things, very clearly, their way. McDaniels would presumably want to bring some of the #PatriotWay to Philadelphia. Roseman might be OK with it now. The question is if a head coach with strong opinions, who will want control, can work with a general manager that also has strong opinions and is used to plenty of control. Time will tell, but the situation feels combustable.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!