They were all surprised about the Jim Washburn-Marty Mornhinweg skirmish.
Not that it happened.
Just that it didnt happen sooner.
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With Washburn, that thing happens pretty frequently, Eagles defensive tackle Trevor Laws said. Its inevitable.
This wasnt quite Kevin Gilbride vs. Buddy Ryan, but Washburn, the Eagles defensive line coach, and Mornhinweg, offensive coordinator, did have an altercation during the Eagles 38-20 loss to the Patriots Sunday at the Linc.
Theres apparently no video of the incident, but CSN booking producer Rachel Appel-Vazquez saw the whole thing unfold early in the first half Sunday.
I noticed a lot of movement on the sideline and saw two coaches screaming at each other, she tweeted. I knew one was Marty because he was wearing a headset. They had to be separated. Then a minute or so later, one coach pushed the other one, I'm not sure who pushed who. Two players pulled them apart and one waved Andy Reid over and that was that.
Reid hasnt spoken to the media since word of the altercation first surfaced, but several Eagles players shrugged off the incident, saying this sort of thing is not as uncommon as you might think and is just the product of frustration borne out of a 4-7 season.
Coaches have a lot of pride, Laws said. Theyre kind of old-school in their ways. They dont get to play the game, so they have a lot of built-up frustration I think and I think that kind of came through.
If you were there throughout camp, it happens. Washburn has a chip on his shoulder and he passes that kind of thing on to us, and its a good thing.
Ryan was defensive coordinator of the Oilers and Gilbride was offensive coordinator under Jack Pardee in 1993. Just before halftime of a nationally televised game against the Jets, a long-running feud between Ryan and Gilbirde boiled over when Ryan punched Gilbride because he didnt like Gilbrides play calling in a game the Oilers held a big lead.
The whole country saw that nationally televised incident. Very few people saw this one.
I didnt see it happen, all I can go on is what Ive heard, center Jason Kelce said. And the only thing I can say is that any time youre losing the way weve beenI think for the most part, every game this season weve been in, weve been competitive, and then Sunday, emotions were high for everybody. I think everybody was a little upset. I know I was a little upset out there on the field. And you get a little agitated and you could lose your composure in situations like that.
Kelce said after practice Monday that Washburn and Mornhinweg had spoken and put the incident behind them.
Theyre professionals, theyve been in the coaching industry for a long time, and I guarantee you this is not the first squabble theyve been in with another coach on the team, he said. Theyve already made amends.
Although the Ryan-Gilbride fracas is a notable exceptionthe Oilers were in the process of winning their 11th straight gamethis kind of thing generally doesnt happen when teams are winning.
The Eagles are 4-7 and tied for last place in the NFC East with the Redskins. Theyre coming off their worst home loss in two years and facing a short week before facing the Seahawks in Seattle Thursday night.
If youre winning games, all that stuff goes by the wayside, Brent Celek said. When you lose, you start nitpicking on those little things that normally you wouldnt talk about. Winning cures everything, and we havent done it yet.
When youre losing games, people get heated. Theres times you have words with each other, but you get over it. Its just when youre losing its put on a bigger stage. You dont want to hear about that, you dont want to see that, but that stuff happens.
E-mail Reuben Frank at rfrank@comcastsportsnet.com