The Eagles will officially be retaining one of their coordinators from last season.
Michael Clay, the special teams coordinator whom fans were clamoring for to be fired in the 2023 offseason, agreed to terms on a new contract extension with the team Friday.
#Eagles special teams coordinator Michael Clay, one of Philly’s impressive young coaches, has agreed to terms on a new contract extension, source said. His units were among the top in the NFL. Now all coordinators — Clay, Vic Fangio and Kellen Moore — are locked up beyond 2024.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 16, 2024
Under Clay, the 2022-23 Eagles struggled mightily on special teams, more specifically punts.
That turned around in 2023. Britain Covey showed signs late last season that he was getting better at punt returns and ultimately Clay’s move to him paid off as he had the most punt return yards this season.
The team also moved on from Arryn Siposs in favor of not having a punter on the 53-man roster for the first half of the season. Eventually the team brought in Braden Mann who took the role for the remainder of the season.
Overall, the special teams unit was the one unit that received the least amount of criticism for the Birds last season – and for good reason given their stats are amongst the league’s best throughout.
With Clay under contract, special teams players like Jake Elliott, Rick Lovato and Britian Covey should have some continuity to carry into 2024 again.
It also gives the team control of all three of their coordinators for multiple seasons (though it could be possible one leaves for a head coaching position if one becomes available).
The Eagles have not made the signings of their positional coaches official at this point with coordinators seemingly still building out their staffs.
