Philadelphia was given the dream it was craving this year when the Eagles ended the franchise’s long wait for Super Bowl glory, overcoming serial winners the New England Patriots in Minnesota to clinch the NFL’s most prestigious prize.
It brought an end to a fantastic but largely contrasting campaign for the Eagles, who shone under the guidance of quarterback Carson Wentz before an injury ended his season prematurely- which allowed Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles the chance to impress.
Foles, as we all know, took the opportunity with both hands and it leads to a potentially very messy off season for the Eagles, as they must decide whether to stick with franchise QB Wentz or put their faith in Foles for a full year- and it seems the most likely scenario is for the former to occur.
Whilst it’s that quarterback decision that is set to grab the headlines during the close-season, there’s still plenty of work for the Eagles to do ahead of the new NFL season and they’ll be well aware of the fact that no side has defended the Super Bowl crown since the Patriots over a decade ago.
Coaching changes
Coaching changes have already occured for the Eagles, with former wide receiver coach Mike Groh becoming the new Offensive Coordinator and running back coach Duce Staley reportedly now becoming Assistant Head Coach- though he’ll remain in charge of the running back quota, which includes Jay Ayaji.
Staley has worked his way through the ranks in Philadelphia, first playing as a running back before becoming a coaching intern during the 2010 offseason. One year later, he became special teams quality control coach and then moving on to manage the running backs.
Mike Groh’s journey is entirely different, as he only joined the Eagles in 2017 as wide receiver coach. Previously with the Chicago Bears and LA Rams, the decision to hand him such a swift promotion over Staley has been criticised in many quarters.
The off-season usually leads to a coaching merry-go-round in the NFL and questions will be asked of the Eagles’ decisions, although there’s no doubt that Groh did do an excellent job with the wide receivers last year.
The draft
This year’s draft may work into the Eagles’ favor as they have two fantastic quarterbacks at their disposal, and need to make a big decision on their future there, ahead of a draft when there is a number of quarterbacks available- many of whom are expected to go early.
The Eagles, therefore, may have better options that many would have anticipated with the 32nd pick, although they could still trade into a better position, and they’ll be expected to bolster their offensive line with a new guard and could also look to improve their defensive line as well.
It certainly won’t grab headlines but the Eagles, as defending champions, don’t need to and the best course of the off-season will be for them to quietly go about their business to prepare for next season’s campaign- especially as the Redskins, Cowboys and New York Giants in the NFC East will all be going for broke.
Quarterback dilemma
As mentioned, all the talk will likely be around the dilemma that the Eagles face at quarterback. Wentz, still just 25, continues to work on his recovery but an orthopedic surgeon has recently claimed that a week one return is optimistic and the Eagles have every reason to be concerned about his knee in the long-term.
Does that make it advantage Foles? Well, not exactly. The injury to Wentz will of course play a factor in the decision for whether or not to trade Foles but there is no doubt that the Super Bowl MVP has had the year of his life- and it could be the last chance for him to become a franchise quarterback.
After an injury ended his 2014 season with the Eagles prematurely, Foles has failed to become a starting quarterback at any of the three franchises he’s been a part of since; the LA Rams, Kansas City Chiefs and upon his return to Philadelphia last year.
The highest number of games Foles has played in a single season is 13, coming in 2013 with the Eagles, and it’s unlikely he’d break that tally if he were to remain at Philadelphia with Wentz still on the books- unless the latter suffered further injury setbacks.
Significantly though, the general assessment at the moment is that Foles is worth a first round pick and that the Eagles’ value on him is much higher than other teams.
