Jeff Stoutland Makes All The Difference
Since head coach Chip Kelly's arrival, the Philadelphia Eagles have drafted one offensive lineman. In 2013, with their first selection of the draft and fourth pick overall, the Philadelphia Eagles selected offensive tackle Lane Johnson. After that day, rumors swirled that the Eagles actually wanted to select outside linebacker at that spot. Imagine that. Forget the fact that Dion Jordan has been virtually invisible with the Miami Dolphins. The Philadelphia Eagles have drafted just one offensive lineman in the past three years under Chip Kelly.
Kelly knows the value of offensive linemen. But since his arrival, the team has parted ways with guards Todd Herremans, Evan Mathis in 2015 alone. Both of whom were starters in 2014.
The Undrafted Draft Prospects
In 2014, the Eagles worked the undrafted free agency hard, bring both offensive tackle Kevin Graf and offensive guard Josh Andrews to the team's practice squad, after losing guard Karim Barton to the Cleveland Browns and offensive lineman Donald Hawkins to the Dallas Cowboys when they pared the roster down to prepare for the season.
So too in 2015, the Birds have gone hard at undrafted free agency, selecting 6'7" 301 pound offensive guard Brett Boyko, 6' 6" 320 offensive guard Malcolm Bunche, 6'3" 302 pound center Mike Coccia, and 6'4" 298 pound offensive guard Cole Manhart.
If you check out the official Philadelphia Eagles website to check the current roster, you will be shocked to find what the offensive line consists of:
Four centers – Coccia (R), David Molk (3), Julian Vandervelde (4), Jason Kelce (5)
Four guards – Andrews (1), Boyko (R), Bunche (R), Manhart (R)
Seven tackles – Allen Barbre (8), Andrew Gardner (6), Graf (1), Johnson (3), Dennis Kelly (4), Jason Peters (12), Matt Tobin (3)
I have heard that the Eagles offensive line is "old". But now that Mathis and Herremans have gone on to a different path, I see an average NFL age of 3.5 years. It's true that the final 53 will see attrition from among the rookies, but the team is not exactly fossilizing on the offensive line.
Another point to note: While listed as offensive tackles, the players most likely to start at the offensive guard right now is Allen Barbre and Matt Tobin – both of whom are listed as tackles.
But the palette of personnel is notoriously light on drafted players, and veteran depth. When you take into account the fact that Chip Kelly needs top quality offensive linemen, you have to pause and wonder if the man has lost sight of the forest for the trees?
What gives?
Stoutland Gives The Eagles An Advantage
Jeff Stoutland was hired to coach the Philadelphia Eagles offensive line by newly arriving head coach Chip Kelly. That same year, three of his five collegiate offensive linemen were drafted to the NFL: offensive guard Chance Warmack, offensive tackle DJ Fluker, and offensive guard Barrett Jones. In fact, Warmack and Fluker were selected back to back in the first round.
That's how good Stoutland is.
But the opportunity to come to Philadelphia was too good to pass up. He had been using film of Jason Peters for years to teach his linemen how to play the position. Now he was coaching him.
"When I first came here I was like, ‘Alright, I’m coaching NFL players. Jason Peters — I’ve been studying his film since he entered the league with the Buffalo Bills in his rookie year. I coached my players in college off of his pro film. I got Buffalo Bills film in my office filled with Jason Peters set lines. Ask any of the players I coached at Alabama, Miami, Michigan State. I teach the left tackle off of what he was [doing]. So they would all joke with me when I was coming here. [Tackle] Cyrus Kouandjio at Alabama says, ‘Hey, what are you going to do, show Jason Peters the Jason Peters film?’”
But it was more than the opportunity to coach a player he admired. It was the chance to give players eager to learn a fighting chance to compete.
“I learned from really, really good coaches when I was young. You know the one thing they all had in common? Good coaches never get tired of coaching the same thing over and over and over and over and over. A lot of people are like – ‘You know what, I told you that like twice now, I’m done. I told you, now it’s your job to do whatever.’ Me? I’m not satisfied. I’m a pig head. I’m like, ‘Until the guy gets it right and understands it, I haven’t done my job.’ I have to keep emphasizing it, too.”
The results of 2014 speak for themselves. Four undrafted free agents arrived to compete for offensive line work in the NFL. A year later? They are all still in the NFL. Considering that a typical UDFA has less than a 10% of making it in the NFL, this is a huge testimonial to the skills of the Eagles offensive line coach.
The Eagles are now one player short, and will waste no time bringing in a new offensive line to the roster. As we go to publish, breaking news about the Eagles signing guard/center Jared Wheeler
The Philadelphia Eagles are signing Jared Wheeler (G/C, U of Miami) on Monday pending a physical. He was let go by Seattle after the Draft.
— Brett Tessler (@TesslerSports) June 13, 2015
Why Wheeler? Well he was coached by Stoutland for two years when both were at the University of Miami. If you had any doubts this offensive line is on Jeff Stoutland, this ought to remove all doubts.
But are the Eagles counting on too much? With the current offensive line roster up for grabs, the team cannot afford to weather any injuries. And 2014 had its share – when both Herremans and Mathis were out for a significant period.
I mean.. the team can't absorb the loss of those two players, can it? Oh… they did already in 2014? Well what do you know? Stoutland truly is a miracle worker.
