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According to reports, the Eagles held a preliminary
interview with Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly shortly after the BCS
Championship, and the two sides plan to meet again in the near future.
The Fighting Irish were pummeled 42-14 by Alabama in college
football’s biggest game on Monday, but obviously that did not wane Jeff Lurie’s
interest. The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane first revealed the Eagles would speak to
Kelly upon his return from a trip, and ESPN’s Chris Mortensen later added the
two sides have already spoken.
It seems there is no end in sight to the organization’s
flirtations with college coaches. The Birds came as close as any NFL team has
to landing Oregon’s Chip Kelly over the weekend, reached out to PSU’s Bill O’Brien,
and were said to be interested in former Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone, who
was hired by the Bills.
News
There is definitely a bit of bias circulating against
candidates from the collegiate ranks, and like Chip before him, Brian Kelly has
no pro experience at all. His Division I-A head coaching career includes three-year
stints at Central Michigan, Cincinnati, and currently with the Irish.
Perhaps we should not be so surprised by the Eagles hitting
the NCAA so hard. Philly Mag’s Tim McManus shared this quote from Lurie
following the press conference to announce Andy Reid’s dismissal:
“I think the NFL right now tends to borrow more from college
than the other way around,” said Lurie following his press conference last week.
“But I think it’s more about leadership. Some of these coaches in college are
outstanding leaders. And they just go from a younger roster to a slightly older
roster — still the average age is, what 26, 27, 25 in the NFL? They are dealing
with 19, 20 year-olds. It’s not that big of a difference.“There’s no question, and I’m not the only on who thinks
that college coaches are well-trained and have experienced tremendous pressure,
and can handle it. And they’re smart.”
The Eagles’ head coaching search has reached 10 days, and the
organization appears no closer to making a hire. In fact, their net appears to
be spreading.
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