Per reports from the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane, the Eagles are expected to hire a legitimate offensive coordinator this offseason, rather than having an assortment of offensive assistants with differing backgrounds.
This report comes after we learned that two of Doug Pederson’s top assistants from last season, Rich Scangarello and Marty Mornhinweg, are not returning next season.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s followed the Eagles closely throughout the past year. The unorthodox collection of offensive assistants clearly didn’t work last season. The Birds finished with the 26th ranked offense in terms of total yards gained, 28th in passing yards, and 26th in points per game (20.9).
After we knew Pederson was going to remain the head coach, it was obvious that the team was going to revert back to having a real offensive coordinator. One that can guide Doug and sprinkle in some of his own philosophies.
There are a handful of candidates out there to fill this position, and one name that stands out is Buffalo Bills QBs coach Ken Dorsey.
Many fans may remember him as the Miami Hurricanes’ quarterback during their reign of dominance in the early 2000s. He lead The U to one BCS National Championship, he was a Heisman finalist twice, and he won the NCAA Quarterback of the Year award in back-to-back seasons.
Dorsey’s professional career didn’t live up to his collegiate resume, but his career in coaching has been outstanding.
Don’t forget to check out the latest episode of “The Pulse of the City Pod”
He started with the Carolina Panthers as their QBs coach in 2013 and was there through 2017. He oversaw the prime years of Cam Newton, which peaked in 2015 with an MVP award and a trip to the Super Bowl. Now with the Bills, Dorsey has taken another young, athletic quarterback under his wing and has developed him into an MVP candidate in just two seasons.
I’m of course talking about Josh Allen, who many thought would never materialize into a legit franchise quarterback.
Dorsey has a track record of developing big, freakishly athletic quarterbacks into efficient passers of the football. Given the Eagles current predicament at the quarterback position, and how hard the organization seems to be trying to sway Carson Wentz into staying in Philly, Dorsey could be the perfect candidate.
I’m sure if Wentz buys back into this team, he’ll be at least somewhat involved in selecting the new offensive coordinator. Dorsey’s coaching resume speaks for itself — Wentz would be foolish to not want to work with this guy given all the success he’s had at molding quarterbacks of Carson’s ilk.
Some of the local pundits have speculated that the Eagles search for a new OC will be handicapped by Doug’s unwillingness to relinquish play calling duties, but we saw earlier this season that he’s at least open to splitting those duties with his fellow coaches.
McLane reported in the latter half of the year that Pederson handed Pres Taylor play calling duties “several times” throughout the year, and that Scangarello was in charge of the two-minute play calling. If Doug likes what Dorsey brings to the table — which he obviously would if the team decides to hire him — I don’t see why Dorsey wouldn’t have some sort of play calling role for the Eagles offense.
The No. 1 goal for the 2021 season is pretty simple: make sure Wentz remains in Philly and get his career back on track. Dorsey may not be some miracle worker who can turn everything he touches into gold, but snagging a guy of his pedigree to help Wentz and this offense turn things around would certainly be a step in the right direction.
1 comment