After just 13 games as the Vikings offensive coordinator, John DeFilippo has been relieved of his duties. Although the Vikings offense has been struggling for most of the season (especially in their last four games), this firing comes as a surprise. Very rarely do you see a newly acquired coordinator get let go before finishing his first season. But this is the NFL, we’ve seen crazier things happen.
With DeFilippo back on the open market, would it make sense for the Eagles to bring back their former QBs coach for the remainder of the season similarly to how the Bengals brought Hue Jackson on board?
I don’t see why not; it can’t really hurt the Eagles at this point in the season. It’s a low-risk, high-reward move.
We all saw how he molded Carson Wentz into an MVP candidate last season and prepared Foles for his playoff run once Wentz went down. And while his offense didn’t produce for the Vikings like many of us thought it would, it seems like he’s been scapegoated by Minnesota. They just invested a lot of money into Kirk Cousins ($84 million guaranteed to be exact) and it’s easier to move on from a coordinator than it is from someone who the organization envisions as their saving grace at the Quarterback position.
Certainly, DeFilippo isn’t blameless for the Vikings’ offensive woes. They rank 30th in designed run percentage at just 30.3 percent. Their offensive line has struggled this season, but so have the Eagles’, and how many times have we said, “we need to run it more!” So anyone who thinks that he will bring balance back to Doug Pederson’s offense is kidding themselves.
But I wouldn’t really want to bring him back as someone who will call plays or anything like that. I want him here to help Wentz get back on track.
I’ve said this plenty of times before, a young QB like Wentz is only going to be as good as the support system that is around him. Through an NFL player’s first couple of seasons they are attached at the hip to their respective position coaches, trying to learn anything they can from them. DeFilippo clearly had a huge impact on Wentz’s development through his first two seasons.
I don’t see any reason not to try and bring him back for the rest of this season. And let’s say hypothetically that Mike Groh gets fired at the end of the year (which many have speculated as a real possibility) DeFilippo could step right in as the new OC — assuming another team doesn’t want his play calling services, something he obviously wouldn’t do here.
Doug and DeFilippo have history together and a chemistry that couldn’t be established with Vikings coach Mike Zimmer. Zimmer is defensive minded and DeFilippo’s constant emphasis on the passing game never sat well with him. Zimmer has been adamant in recent weeks about how important it is to run the ball late in the season. And despite those concerns, DeFilippo still neglected the running game, and now he’s jobless.
I don’t know if bringing DeFilippo back will magically fix the Eagles offense. Is three weeks even enough time to fix this offense? I doubt it. But regardless, we’ve all seen the type of success Wentz has had with DeFilippo. Based off that alone, I would bring him back for the remainder of the season.