Philly Sports Jabronis
Report From Philadelphia Eagles
After serving as the Cleveland Browns’ offensive coordinator last season, John DeFilippo will join the Eagles’ coaching staff as the quarterbacks coach in 2016 as the two sides agreed to terms Thursday morning. At the NFL level, DeFilippo has nine years of coaching experience working in different positions for the New York Giants, Oakland Raiders, New York Jets and the Browns. He has also coached at the collegiate level, serving as a quarterbacks coach for the majority of his career.
In his last quarterbacks coach position with the Raiders from 2012-14, DeFilippo helped develop second-round pick Derek Carr, who led all 2014 rookies in completions (348), passing yards (3,270) and passing touchdowns (21). His completion total was the second-highest by any NFL rookie and his 21 touchdown passes tied for fifth-most all-time. Carr also threw the fewest interceptions (12) of all rookie quarterbacks in NFL history with at least 450 passing attempts. The previous year, DeFilippo guided Terrelle Pryor and Matt McGloin. The two quarterbacks combined for 3,345 yards on the year, while Pryor also added 576 rushing yards, the most by a quarterback in Raiders history. In 2012, he helped Carson Palmer put forth one of his most productive seasons, throwing for 4,018 yards with 22 touchdown passes.
DeFilippo will also be very familiar with current Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez. The two worked together during Sanchez’s rookie season in 2009, when the Jets advanced to the AFC Championship Game.
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On Wednesday, the Eagles announced that the team agreed to terms with seven new assistant coaches as well as retained seven coaches from last year’s staff.
Joining head coach Doug Pederson and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz in Philadelphia will be offensive coordinator Frank Reich, assistant offensive line/tight ends/run game coach Eugene Chung, defensive quality control/assistant defensive line coach Phillip Daniels, linebackers coach Ken Flajole, defensive back/safeties coach Tim Hauck, wide receivers coach Greg Lewis and defensive quality control/assistant secondary coach Dino Vasso.
The seven coaches who will remain in Philadelphia are special teams coordinator Dave Fipp, assistant special teams coach Matthew Harper, tight ends coach Justin Peelle, running backs coach Duce Staley, offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland, offensive quality control/assistant quarterbacks coach Press Taylor and defensive backs/cornerbacks coach Cory Undlin.
The day after Jim Schwartz was named the Eagles’ defensive coordinator for the 2016 season, the team announced Frank Reich as its offensive coordinator. Reich comes to Philadelphia with 11 years of NFL coaching experience.
Most recently, Reich spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons serving as offensive coordinator of the San Diego Chargers. Under his direction, the Chargers ranked fifth in the NFL in net passing yards (8,869), fourth in completion percentage (66.2 percent) and third in completions (822). Additionally, the team’s quarterback, Philip Rivers, led the AFC in passing yards (4,792) in 2015 under the offensive coordinator’s command.
Reich began his coaching career as a coaching intern with the Indianapolis Colts in 2006, spending six seasons with the team before joining Arizona as a wide receivers coach in 2012. The following season, he became the Chargers’ quarterbacks coach and was promoted to offensive coordinator after his first year with the team.
Before beginning his coaching career, Reich spent 13 years in the league as a quarterback, 10 of which were spent with the Bills after Buffalo selected him in the third round of the 1985 NFL Draft. He was famously the quarterback for the Bills in “The Comeback,” a game in which Reich helped his team overcome a 32-point deficit to defeat the Houston Oilers, 41-38, in overtime of the AFC Wild Card round on January 3, 1993.
Dave Fipp returns as the Eagles special teams coordinator after serving in that role for the last three seasons. Fipp originally joined the Eagles in 2013 and has coached a special teams unit that has accounted for 10 total touchdowns (four punt returns, four blocked punt returns and two kickoff returns) in the last two seasons. In 2014, Fipp’s unit was rated the best in the league by The Dallas Morning News columnist Rick Gosselin in his annual special teams rankings. In 2015, the Eagles ranked fifth in Gosselin’s rankings.
Eugene Chung is in his second stint as a coach with the Eagles. Chung previously served as the Eagles assistant offensive line coach from 2010-12 before joining the Kansas City Chiefs in the same capacity in 2013. A four-year letterman as an offensive lineman at Virginia Tech, Chung enjoyed an eight-year NFL playing career after originally being selected by the New England Patriots in the first round (13th overall) of the 1992 NFL Draft.
Ken Flajole joins the Eagles as the team’s linebackers coach and enters his 17th season as a coach in the NFL. Flajole (pronounced FLAY-juhl) entered the NFL in 1998 as a defensive assistant/quality control coach with the Green Bay Packers after spending 21 years coaching in the college ranks. Since then, Flajole has coached for the Seattle Seahawks (1999-2002), Carolina Panthers (2003-08), St. Louis Rams (2009-11), New Orleans Saints (2012) and Cleveland Browns (2013), spending time as a linebackers coach and defensive backs coach, while serving as the Rams defensive coordinator from 2009-11.
Matthew Harper returns as the team’s assistant special teams coach, a position he held from 2013-14 before transitioning to assistant defensive backs coach in 2015. Harper arrived in Philadelphia following four years at the University of Oregon, where he was a coaching intern (2009-11) and graduate assistant (2012). Harper played collegiately at Oregon from 2006-07, where he starred at safety after transferring from City College of San Francisco.
Phillip Daniels enters his first season with the Eagles and will serve as the defensive quality control/assistant defensive line coach. Originally a fourth-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in the 1996 NFL Draft, Daniels enjoyed a 14-year NFL career playing defensive end for the Seahawks (1996-99), Chicago Bears (2000-2003) and Washington Redskins (2004-2010). Daniels appeared in 201 games with 167 starts during his pro career and compiled 390 tackles, 62.0 sacks, 15 forced fumbles and 12 fumble recoveries. After his playing career, Daniels served as the Redskins director of player development in 2012.
Tim Hauck enters his first season on the Eagles coaching staff. A former NFL safety, Hauck (pronounced HOWK) enjoyed a 13-year playing career that included stops with the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles. In 1999, Hauck started at strong safety for the Eagles alongside Brian Dawkins and finished second on the team with a career-high 122 tackles. Following his playing career, Hauck began coaching at his alma mater, the University of Montana, where he served as the safeties coach from 2004-06 and the secondary coach in 2007. After a one-year stint coaching safeties at UCLA in 2008, Hauck was hired by the Tennessee Titans and served as the club’s assistant secondary coach for two seasons (2009-10). Hauck went on to coach the Cleveland Browns defensive backs in 2012 before returning to the college ranks as the defensive coordinator/cornerbacks coach at UNLV (2013-14).
Greg Lewis rejoins the Eagles as the team’s wide receivers coach after spending the 2015 season as an offensive assistant with the New Orleans Saints and three seasons coaching in the college ranks. Lewis signed as a rookie free agent with Philadelphia in 2003 and played eight seasons in the NFL with the Eagles (2003-08) and Minnesota Vikings (2009-10) and compiled 161 catches for 2,172 yards and nine touchdowns during his career. Lewis began his post-playing career as a coaching intern with the Eagles in the summer of 2012 and went on to coach wide receivers at the University of San Diego (2012), San Jose State (2013) and the University of Pittsburgh (2014).
Justin Peelle enters his fourth season with the Eagles and his second as the team’s tight ends coach. He previously held the title of assistant tight ends coach in Philadelphia from 2013-14. Under Peelle in 2015, Zach Ertz posted the third-highest reception total by an Eagles tight end (75) in team history. Originally a fourth-round draft choice of the San Diego Chargers in 2002, Peelle played in the NFL for 10 seasons, including stints with San Diego (2002-05), Miami (2006-07), Atlanta (2008-10) and San Francisco (2011), amassing 123 receptions for 1,003 yards and 12 touchdowns in 151 games.
Duce Staley returns to the Eagles as the team’s running backs coach. After a productive 10-year playing career with Philadelphia (1997-03) and Pittsburgh (2004-06), Staley rejoined the Eagles as a coaching intern in 2010 and served as a special teams quality control coach from 2011-12 before being elevated to running backs coach in 2013.
Jeff Stoutland originally joined the Eagles as the team’s offensive line coach in 2013 and returns for his fourth season with Philadelphia. Prior to joining the Eagles, Stoutland spent his entire coaching career in the collegiate ranks and has held posts with Alabama (2011-12), Miami (2007-10), Michigan State (2000-06) and Syracuse (1997-99), among others.
Press Taylor enters his fourth season with the Eagles after joining the team as an offensive quality control coach during the 2013 offseason. Prior to arriving in Philadelphia, Taylor spent two seasons as a graduate assistant/quarterbacks coach with the University of Tulsa (2011-12). His brother, Zac, is currently the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at the University of Cincinnati.
Cory Undlin enters his second season as the Eagles defensive backs coach. Prior to joining the Eagles, Undlin spent three seasons with the Denver Broncos (2012-14), with the latter two as the team’s defensive backs coach. The 2014 Denver defense finished the regular season ranked third in overall defense and saw three members of the secondary earn Pro Bowl accolades in CB Chris Harris Jr., CB Aqib Talib and S T.J. Ward. The trio of Pro Bowlers, along with starting S Rahim Moore, combined for 13 interceptions on the year. Undlin previously held NFL coaching stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2009-11), Cleveland Browns (2005-08) and New England Patriots (2004).
Dino Vasso joins the Eagles as the team’s defensive quality control coach after spending the previous three seasons as a coaching assistant with the Kansas City Chiefs (2013-15), with an emphasis on the aiding the team’s secondary alongside defensive backs coach Emmitt Thomas and defensive assistant/secondary coach Al Harris. Vasso joined the Chiefs after one season as a graduate assistant at the University of Missouri. He was a four-year letterman and started 51 consecutive games at the University of New Hampshire from 2006-10, and is a native of Crum Lynne, PA.
