January 20, 2016
Mel Evans/AP
The Eagles have begun filling out their staff under head coach Doug Pederson.
The Eagles have officially announced five assistant coaching hires, although several more have been reported as likely to happen. Let's recap how the Eagles' staff appears to be forming under new head coach Doug Pederson.
Schwartz served as the Titans' defensive coordinator from 2001-08, the Lions' head coach from 2009-13, and then the Bills' defensive coordinator in 2014.
Here is where his defenses have finished as either a defensive coordinator or a head coach:
| Jim Schwartz | Overall | Run | Pass | Points |
| 2001 Titans | 25 | 5 | 31 | 25 |
| 2002 Titans | 10 | 2 | 25 | 11 |
| 2003 Titans | 12 | 1 | 30 | 13 |
| 2004 Titans | 27 | 18 | 26 | 30 |
| 2005 Titans | 19 | 22 | 17 | 29 |
| 2006 Titans | 32 | 30 | 27 | 31 |
| 2007 Titans | 5 | 5 | 10 | 8 |
| 2008 Titans | 7 | 6 | 9 | 2 |
| 2009 Lions (HC) | 32 | 25 | 32 | 32 |
| 2010 Lions (HC) | 21 | 24 | 16 | 19 |
| 2011 Lions (HC) | 23 | 24 | 22 | 23 |
| 2012 Lions (HC) | 13 | 16 | 14 | 27 |
| 2013 Lions (HC) | 16 | 6 | 23 | 15 |
| 2014 Bills | 4 | 11 | 3 | 4 |
If you'll note, the last three seasons Schwartz has focused solely on the defense (2014, 2007-2008 Titans), he has had top seven finishes.
Schwartz is known for running the "wide nine" defense. That will make some Eagles' fans shudder, remembering the days of Jim Washburn and Juan Castillo in Philly. However, Schwartz has had success with it throughout his career, and he uses it as a tool, not as an every-down alignment.
His presence likely means a return to a 4-3 defense, which should suit the Eagles' personnel well.
Reich was the Chargers' offensive coordinator in 2014 and 2015, when their personnel was clearly stronger in the passing game with Philip Rivers under center than in the run game. Here were the Chargers' offensive rankings under Reich:
| Frank Reich | Overall | Run | Pass | Points |
| 2014 Chargers | 18 | 30 | 10 | 17 |
| 2015 Chargers | 9 | 31 | 4 | 26 |
Those numbers came after a season in 2013 when the Chargers were fifth in overall offense (13th rushing, 4th passing), and 12th in points per game.
Prior to his stint as offensive coordinator, Reich spent two years (2009-2010) in Indianapolis as Peyton Manning's quarterback coach, then a year (2011) as their wide receivers coach. He then moved on the Arizona in 2012 to be the Cardinals' wide receivers coach, before landing with the Chargers as their quarterbacks coach in 2013.
The Chargers dealt with a boatload of injuries and a bad offensive line on their way to a 4-12 record in 2015. The Chargers opted to retain head coach Mike McCoy, but fired Reich.
It will be interesting to see if Fipp can continue the incredible success of the Eagles' special teams units without Chip Kelly. The Eagles spent an inordinate amount of time in practice on special teams, and Kelly put a premium on acquiring special teams talent. Those factors certainly helped, but someone also has to put it all together. That was Fipp, who unquestionably had the best special teams units in the NFL in 2014, and another excellent season in 2015.
DeFilippo has a lot of experience working with young quarterbacks -- He worked with Jamarcus Russell when he was 22, Mark Sanchez when he was 23, Derek Carr was he was 23, and Johnny Manziel was he was 23.
While that is an uninspiring group of quarterbacks, note that Carr had a good rookie season under DeFilippo, and Russell had his only non-awful season under him. Meanwhile, Manziel was already broken, but managed to have some good moments this season on the field.
Stoutland returns from Kelly's regime. The Eagles' offensive line was terrible in the run game a year ago, but decent in pass protection. Stoutland didn't have much to work with, as he was given two new guards, leaving the Eagles with major holes and no continuity along their line.
The Eagles think Duce is a "stud," and a long-time NFL coach in the making. He returns as the Birds' running backs coach after interviewing for the head coaching position.
Bob Bicknell left to join Chip Kelly in San Francisco. See ya. Ideally, this coaching regime will value catching the football and then running with it over blocking. Former Eagles WR Greg Lewis was rumored to be a possibility here.
This is a sneaky underrated position, as Zach Ertz has a world of talent, but has penchant for drops and other mistakes. The Eagles also have an underused and talented Trey Burton on their roster, and possibly a rookie draft pick, depending on what the Eagles do with Brent Celek and his $5 million price tag this offseason.
Former defensive line coach Jerry Azzinaro left to join Chip Kelly in San Francisco. The Eagles' defensive linemen, particularly Fletcher Cox, grew as players under Azzinaro. Rumors of potential defensive line coach replacements have been scarce to date.
The Eagles seemed to have added Ken Flajole, but Pederson said in his opening press conference that Flajole had not yet been hired. Flajole has an extensive resume in the NFL, largely as a linebackers and defensive backs coach. To note, Bill McGovern, who served as the Eagles' outside linebackers coach under Chip Kelly, was wandering the halls of the NovaCare Complex Tuesday.
While the Eagles gave up the second-most touchdown passes in the NFL a season ago, their technique really came a long way under Undlin. In a defense that is not being stressed to an extreme degree because of Chip Kelly's flawed fast-paced offense, a major improvement in the Eagles' defensive numbers is inevitable.
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