Maybe They Got a Group Rate on Air Fare? Thoughts on Eagles Interviewing Falcons Trio Updated

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You gotta hand it to the Eagles – they are being economical.
Jeff Lurie revealed his first round of interviews for the club’s opening at
head coach (still feels a little funny writing that), and all three of the
candidates just happen to be working in the same building.

The Birds were granted permission to meet with a trio of
assistants from the Atlanta Falcons during their bye week: offensive
coordinator Dirk Koetter, defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, and special teams
coach Keith Armstrong.

• Koetter is the least surprising of the bunch. His name has
become one of the most popular on the market after one year in Atlanta, where
he added more of an emphasis on both the vertical passing attack and the
no-huddle offense. The results are hard to deny: quarterback Matt Ryan just
completed the best season of his career, setting personal bests in nearly every
meaningful category: attempts (615), yards (4,719), touchdowns (32), and passer
rating (99.1) en route to 13 wins. He also led the NFL with a 68.6 completion
percentage.

We wrote about Koetter a few weeks back when Ray Didinger
revealed there is some history with Nick Foles. While the head coach at Arizona
St., Koetter actually recruited Foles out of high school, but Koetter was fired
and Foles uncommitted. However, it’s at least plausible Koetter would be
receptive to working with Foles at this level, who happens to share some basic
attributes with Ryan. That in itself isn’t a reason to hire the guy – can’t say
I would have a problem with it though. He’s worth talking to anyway.

• While Koetter has only been an NFL coordinator since 2007,
Nolan’s big league experience is far more expansive. In fact, he’s been around
professional football his entire life. His father, Dick, enjoyed a nine-year
career as a defensive back, then went on to coach in the league for nearly 30
years, including three in the Saints’ head job. The Falcons are Mike’s seventh
stop as a defensive coordinator, while in between he spent three-and-a-half
unremarkable years as San Francisco’s chief, compiling an 18-37 record between
2005 and 2008. This was his first season in Atlanta, and his unit ranks fifth
in points allowed and takeaways.

Nolan is most often associated with the 3-4 defense, which
he utilized for most of his career, but has stuck with a 4-3 in Atlanta likely due
to the personnel – he’s flexible. His previous head coaching stint is certainly
a black mark, but when he got there, the 49ers had gone 2-14 the year before,
so they were a complete mess to say the least. Then again, his public feuding with
quarterback Alex Smith didn’t help matters, either. It wouldn’t be entirely
fair to judge him based on that experience, but I think I like Nolan better as
a coordinator all the same.

• Armstrong seems a little out of nowhere, but he brings some
local flare to the group having grown up in Bucks County and graduated from
Temple. He’s been coaching in the NFL since 1993, specifically on special teams
from ’97 on. Can’t say we know as much about his qualifications, but apparently
he is generating some buzz around the league, as he is expected to meet with
the Bears as well.

Of the three, Koetter appears to be the real target, but
then there’s no harm in meeting other qualified coaches along the way.
Meanwhile, there is a ton of speculation about certain college coaches, but the
only other confirmed interview on the Eagles’ plate as of this writing is
Denver offensive coordinator Mike McCoy.

UPDATE: Looks like Koetter may be off the board before he ever got here.

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