In a move that Eagles fans will surely take well, the Eagles have reportedly agreed to a deal with their special teams coordinator Michael Clay.
Aaron Wilson reports that the deal will add an extra year onto his contract and grant Clay a higher salary.
Clay drew the ire from fans throughout a large part of the 2022-23 season and during the Super Bowl when a poor punt and then even worse coverage on the punt led to a quick score following a 65-yard punt. The score put the Chiefs ahead by eight and the quickness of it might have robbed the Eagles the chance at having the last possession of the game.
Clay was a linebacker in the NFL until 2013 and join Chip Kelly’s staff with the Eagles the very next season. He hopped to the 49ers in 2016 and was there until Nick Sirianni hired him and brought him back to Philly in 2021.
While league sources seem to continue to be fans of Clay’s coaching, that has yet to translate to game action.
Over the last two seasons, the Eagles have allowed the 28th and then 30th highest average kick return yards. On their own returns, the Eagles have been 30th and 16th in kick return average as well as 27th and 14th in punt return average. Punting has not been a strong suit of the team in either season, either.
The Eagles see something in Clay and are banking on his coaching taking the team into the top half of the league’s special teams rather than the basement dwelling and mediocrity that the team has shown in those situations over the past two years.
Clay is the only coordinator that the team did not lose this offseason and is currently the team’s only coordinator with the NFL Scouting Combine just around the corner.
