Well That Got Andy's Attention

Raise your hand if you saw the Mike Shanahan thing coming.  Anyone?  I sure didn't.

This is why I don't (really) gamble on sports.  Who could possibly have guessed that both the Broncos and the Chargers would finish 8-8 at the end of the year -- but Mike Shanahan would be the one getting fired.

If things hold the way they seem to be going, Wade Phillips and Norv Turner will keep their jobs ... but not Mike Shanahan.  Amazing.

It's funny, everyone talks about how Mike Shanahan was a personnel guy / coach just like Reid, and they say that's one of the reasons Denver has struggled.  That may in fact be true.  But you don't even have to get into that kind of supposition to see that Shanahan was taking on too many roles. 

You may not know this, but Mike Shanahan stopped calling his own plays this year.  That's right.  One of the best play-callers in the history of the NFL turned that duty over to his 32-year-old quarterbacks coach this year.  Shanahan slid into the role we all believe Reid has, which is overseeing the gameplan and vetoing some plays in some situations. 

I know nothing about Bates.  He may truly be an offensive wunderkind.  But when Mike Shanahan is coaching without calling his own plays, he's coaching with one arm tied behind his back.

The scary thing is that there's a lot of executive/coaching talent floating around out there right now.  Bill Cowher is sniffing around.  Mike Holmgren and Mike Shanahan are both free agents.  Bill Parcells can opt out of his deal (but probably won't?) when the ownership in Miami changes.  That's a whole bunch of Super Bowl rings just waiting to get back into the game.

On that note, I have to say I find the Holmgren thing at least a little interesting.  We know the guy didn't have truly high-end success in Seattle, but he had a pretty good run there before the wheels came off this season.  We also know the reports are that Holmgren promised his wife he'd take a year off.  And I realize people are already pre-hiring him for the GM spot in San Francisco next year.  But if I'm Jeff Lurie, I'm thinking very, very hard right now about how I might fit Holmgren into this organization.

We know Andy Reid has the utmost respect for Holmgren.  He's uttered some variation of the line, "No one does it any better than him," dozens of times over the past decade.  Holmgren might be one of the few guys out there Reid would happily accept as a co-equal.

The beauty too is that Holmgren still has his head in the game.  He'd be able to step in quickly and help with this year's offseason -- only the most critical offseason in the last five or so years. 

I firmly believe the Eagles need to bring in a fresh voice this season for the personnel department.  Someone who doesn't share all the baggage of the past few years (because they wouldn't be the one who'd brought these guys in).  Someone who can say, "Look, I know you like this guy, but I can tell you for a fact that we used to try to go after him with X, Y and Z back in [other city]."  Mike Holmgren is a perfect fit to be that guy.

And then once that's done, let's figure out how to make Mike Shanahan our offensive coordinator...

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Other notes:

Stories like this are why Peterson will hang on to the football in this game.  I bet if FO tracked this, they'd find RBs make far fewer fumbles in games after games in which they couldn't hang on to the ball.  All week, the Vikings coaches are going to be banging ball security into AP's head.  He'll be fine on that this week.

I'll see your Joselio and raise you a DeSean.  From Domo's story on the defense today:

"Hanson, I kind of knew what he could do. We really like him inside. He's got good quickness to cover a slot receiver. It's the hardest thing to do, covering a slot receiver inside. Because they got half of that field to work with..."

Which is why Jackson is uncoverable in there.  You know what I'd like to see?  A four-receiver set with Baskett and Brown on the outside and Curtis and Jackson in the slot.  We know Baskett has the long speed to get by anyone, so you'd have to be careful leaving him outside without help.  On the inside, what kind of personnel do you use to cover these two seriously dangerous receivers?  You can put your nickel on one of them -- a mis-match in favor of the Eagles -- but then you're going linebacker, safety or dime back on the other.  None of those are good match-ups for the defense. 

The obvious move is to play zone, but both those guys are really smart and good at finding creases.  And if you send them deep, the middle of the field is going to be nice and open for the outside guys running crossing routes.

Annnnnnnd ... if you spread the defense out that much to deal with your passing game, how happy to run the ball do you think Westbrook and the offensive line will be when they're blocking five-on-five in the box. 

Some context missing in this story about the Eagles' upcoming draft picks:

Looking back on it, you wonder if the Eagles would have traded out of the first round with the Panthers last year. Knowing what they know now, you wonder if they might just have gone ahead and made the selection as it stood, and what impact that might have had on 2009.

Draft order does matter. A ridiculously high percentage of Pro Bowl players come from the first half of the first round of the draft - and the Eagles almost never pick there. It makes their life harder. In their hearts, they figured the Carolina pick might get them into the first half of the first round. Now, this.

Just another draft day miscalculation for a team that isn't as bad as people say when it comes to picking players, but isn't good enough.

Yeah, it sucks that the Panthers ended up being good this year.  But the thing is, we know Andy Reid wanted to use that first-round pick on DeSean Jackson.  I can't find the quote right now, but he said a couple months ago that Heckert was the one who convinced him that Jackson would be available in the second, even though Reid was freaking out (inasmuch as he freaks out) that the Eagles were going to miss out on this guy.

And if they did the draft over again today, do you think Jackson would be there in the second?

So basically the Eagles got the first-rounder they wanted (who has very much played like a first-rounder but won't be getting paid first-round money for a couple of years), an extra year out of a developmental future guard (Mike McGlynn), and a free first-rounder in this year's draft.  

Assuming the Eagles would have taken Otah, would you be happier now if they had him instead of DeSean Jackson?  I wouldn't.  Maybe Trevor Laws, though.

Finally, this is exactly what I'm talking about when it comes to profiling all the Eagles -- not just the stars.  The longer-time readers may remember this stunt from back in May:

But there's another, much larger, subset of Eagles fans that simply want to learn as much about their team as possible.

That's why so many people visit PhiladelphiaEagles.com every day.  It's not because we crave the incessantly pro-organization editorial slant.  It's because you can learn a lot about the team, its players, the coaches and generally what's going on at the NovaCare Complex by checking in.

This really came through to me the other day when I was (back pat) talking to David Akers.  We talked for 10 minutes, but I could easily have filled two hours with questions and follow-ups.  And yeah, it was a pretty cheesy interview, but did you know he ran a 4.6 40-yard-dash coming out of college?  Did you appreciate, as I did, hearing about Sav's development as a holder?  Did you really, really want to find out what kind of shoe he likes to wear when he works out?

Ok, maybe not that last one.  But the point stands:  Every single player on the Eagles has an interesting story.  And I want to read about it.

And I don't think I'm alone.

So why did we have to wait until after week 17 to read that story about Chris Clemons?  Who cares about needing the fumble return as a hook?  They guy's life story is just as interesting now as it was four months ago.  And as great as that fumble return was, he's really been playing good football for most of the second half of the season.

More, please.

Comments

[shlynch]

Remember this on Trevor Laws: without his selection, there was no other option to be 3rd DT. Decent DTs had been picked clean in FA by the time the draft came around, and it was a pretty thin year for DT talent. All we really had on the roster at DT was Montae Reagor. We were a Bunkley/Patterson injury away from having a Darren Howard or a Dan Klecko playing every down at DT. Which should be a terrifying thought. [Can't remember which game it was, maybe Skins 1, where the Eagles had to stop the other team from getting a first down on third and long to keep the other team from being able to kneel out the rest of the clock, and the team easily ran for a first down up the middle against Howard and Klecko as our nickel DTs.]

You might not think Laws was a great value at the pick, but we had backed ourselves into a corner where we had to have a DT that would be able to contribute from game 1. We HAD TO HAVE a DT in the second round, and Laws was the best prospect at that point. If we waited until the third round, the odds were much higher that anyone who we were confident could contribute would be off of the board.

It was a situation that the Eagles almost never put themselves in -- HAVING to take a certain position early because they couldn't fill that need in FA. The times where that has happened (since we stopped picking in the top 10) have been McDougle in 2003 and Laws in 2008. Not a position that we like to be in, or can look back on fondly.

If we had to start Trevor Laws, he wouldn't be great, but he also wouldn't be horrible; he would be adequate. That was the position we put ourselves in, and we are quite fortuante that Patterson and Bunkley have survived the season.

[Gabe from BountyBowl]

The Shanahan news was pretty surprising. If Tampa doesn't soil themselves Sunday, Mike Shanahan doesn't look very different than Andy Reid.

Not to play the whiny West Coast guy complaining about East Coast media bias (since I love beating up on said whiny West Coast guys), but is it really fair to say Holmgren didn't have high-end success in Seattle? Six trips to the playoffs, four straight division titles (five in total), .569 career winning percentage, and a crap call away from winning the Super Bowl? I mean, it's not Belichick or Dungy, but it's pretty high end.

(Cut those sad b*****ds out there some slack....)

[Derek]

That's true. It just doesn't look as bright after the back-to-back SB appearances in Green Bay.

All the more reason to bring him in :)

As for Laws, I don't mind the pick. He's looked good this year. But if the Eagles can hang to Patterson (contract already in place) and Bunkley (we'll see) for a long time, then Laws is a long way from starting. He was a fine pick for all the reasons you suggested, but that doesn't mean we'd rather have him than Otah.

That's an admittedly unfair comparison based on their respective draft positions, but if the Eagles hadn't made that trade, they would only have gotten one of those two guys.

[Miss You Jerome]

I don't have a problem with the Carolina trade. Sure, it would have looked even better if the Carolina pick turned out to be a top 15 pick but I still think it was a good value, especially if Jackson was the guy we would have picked anyway. I think the book is still out on Laws and we know how JJ likes to rotate linemen. I think he gets more of a shot next year. Worst case, the trade was a push. Depending on what we get with Carolina's pick, it could still end up a coup.

I cannot picture Holmgren wanting to come back and do anything but coach. He may want another kingdom like Reid/Shanahan but I think his real passion is coaching. So, I cannot see him taking a GM role only. I could be wrong and would love to see it happen but I am pretty sure he will receive much better offers.

Gabe from Bounty Bowl, I think it is somewhat fair to say Holmgren did not get the high end results that some expected. He did not win a Super Bowl and that is what people expected out of him at that time. I think he took a crappy organization and made it very respectable, similar to what Reid did for the Eagles. The difference is that no one had expectations for Reid and Holmgren came with that championship pedigree. If Cowher goes somewhere in a year or two, I cannot imagine the expectations will be solely to take a team to the playoffs a few times. The same was true for Holmgren. He also benefitted from playing in arguably the weakest division in football during all of his playoff years. I don't think he did a bad job. I just think he fell short of expectations.

As for the sad b*****ds in Seattle, did anyone notice they throw snowballs at Holmgren in his final home game? Notice it did not get any media coverage? Don't give me that crap about West Coast bias. We still hear about the Santa deal from 40 years ago. Seattle fans who call themselves the "12th man" get nothing but props from the "East Coast" media. I have never been able to figure out why. They are the only fans outside of Minnesota who have had troubles selling out a playoff game and throw snowballs at a guy who is supposedly beloved in that town.

[shlynch]

My point is that but for the trade, they would have taken Laws, not Jackson, because they had to have the DT. So the comparison has to be Jackson vs. Otah.

[since1961]

The trade had more value than that. Per PE website, they traded one of the CAR picks to MINN with their 5th. So they gave up Otah and a 5th, and got Laws, McGlynn, Demps, and whoever they pick with CAR's #1. Laws seems OK, Demps might be very good, McGlynn ?? and the #1 ??. But that's a lot for Otah and a 5.

[quest4fire85]

Laws was taken before DJax so I dont get how you are saying that Reid wanted to get him in the first round. He would've taken DJax with the first pick in the second round if that was the case. DJax was a tweener that teams passed on and I'm confident that Reid felt he would be available after picking Laws.

Reid would have taken Otah with that first round pick and he even admitted it after the fact. DeAngelo Williams' great season can be directly attributed to the acquisition of Otah.

[JDG]

A few thoughts:

- Didn't the Seahawks really turn around start when Holmgren gave up the GM duties(2002)? What makes you think that he'd be a good GM elsewhere?

- Can't see Shananhan downgrading to OC...

- How is Jon Gruden not pissing his pants? He's lived off the hype of a championship team he had zero hand in building for years now with nothing more to show.

[Derek]

The same reason Bill Parcells had his best success as a coach when he wasn't picking the players -- but then turned things right around in Miami. And the same reason I think Andy would be a great GM if he ever decided to give up coaching and kick himself upstairs.

These guys have never been one-dimensional coaches. They're system guys, with their system following them wherever they go.

It's just that coaching and GMing are both full-time jobs and it doesn't seem like it makes sense in the modern NFL to have one guy do both.

[Sundar]

What I find most intriguing is the coaching tree stemming from the Eagles organization right now.

-Brad Childress--playoffs
-John Harbaugh--playoffs
And it's looking very likely that Spags becomes an HC next season.

On the Holmgren thing, it seems brilliant from our standpoint, but you're asking a guy after 10+ yrs building a team to give up the reigns to his predecessor. No way.

[Sundar]

Also, as a philly kid going to school in Boulder, CO I have to chime in on Shannahan...

Funniest part is my buddy incessantly tried to beat into my head how much greater an HC Shanny is to Reid. I said maybe but he doesn't have JJ to balance him out. Instead, he's gone through a new DC every season and was apparently fired for refusing to let go of "4th and 26" Bob Slowik. Shanny was fired because he had too much power and you can not make these guys regress from that. How many times you think Jim Johnson has saved Reid's job? Real question..

[Displaced in TN]

Great Dawkins piece:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story?campaign=ec0005&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true&id=09000d5d80dcbe86

Brings a tear to your eye...

[Andrew B]

Seahawks:

Wins per year (non-strike seasons)
Chuck Knox - 8.875 (8 years), 4 playoff berths (3-4 record)
Dennis Erickson - 7.75 (4 years), 0 playoff berths
Mike Holmgren - 8.6 (10 years), 6 playoff berths (4-6 record), 1 Super Bowl appearance

I'm not seeing Holmgren's "greatness" in Seattle. It just looks like more of the same. Plus, Knox was competing against the Elway Bronco's, the Raiders near their Super Bowl peak, the Chiefs, and the Chargers. Most of Holmgren's tenure has been battling it out with the hollow shells of the Rams, 49ers, and Cardinals. How could you fail to win 11+ games most years given those teams in your division?

[cavortingEagle]

To echo Sundar, Shanny's musical chairs with DC's has not helped his defense for many years. I think Slowik was his 3rd in 3 years, but if we go back to his back to back Superbowls, he really started messing with his D when he fired Greg Robinson. He replaced Robinson with (in order) Ray Rhodes, Larry Coyer, Jim Bates (Defensive Assistant), and Bob Slowik. 4 Coordinators in 7 years.

I too live in the Republic of Boulder and have commented to many around me that the Broncos have the personnel on D to run a JJ style D. Mentioned to my boss that Ron Rivera would work around week 8 this year (then he got promoted to DC in San Diego) and now Spags is interviewing for HC.

I think the real problem with Shanny wasn't so much that he's a bad coach, he's a bad executive. I've been on the East Coast since Christmas so I haven't heard any of the FM Sports Talk that I listen to on my daily commute, but I'd guess that that's got to be part of the dialog.

Happy New Year to all.