'It's a Philly thing': Newly named NFL head coaches have ties to Philadelphia
Walk around Philadelphia and you’ll see "It’s a Philly Thing" all over -- on hats, flags, shirts, you name it. Look around the NFL and you’ll see three teams have newly named head coaches, each with his own "Philly Thing."
On Tuesday, news broke that Sean Payton would become Denver Broncos HC. He’s hoping to restore Russell Wilson to his Pro Bowl form. It’s a tall order, but one he can handle. Payton’s first NFL job was as a quarterbacks coach for the Eagles.
Payton had already accepted a job with the University of Maryland in 1997 when the Eagles hired him as quarterbacks coach at the last minute. He’d already spent a decade coaching in college, so when the Scranton, Pa., native got a chance to coach in the NFL alongside Jon Gruden, he took it.
He didn’t get much done with QBs Ty Detmer, Rodney Peete and Bobby Hoying, but he more than made up for it during his 2009 Super Bowl title run with New Orleans.
After firing two coaches in as many years, the Houston Texans gave DeMeco Ryans a six-year deal as head coach. He spent the first six years of his playing career as a Texan and the last four as an Eagle. Ryans made two Pro Bowls with Houston, but he t wice led Philadelphia in tackles after being traded to the team in 2012.
Philadelphia gave a fourth-round pick to Houston and swapped third-round picks to get Ryans. The Eagles used their third-round pick to draft QB Nick Foles. Ryans had 256 solo tackles as an Eagle but only two winning seasons before suffering a torn Achilles tendon in 2016.
Frank Reich is now the head coach of the Carolina Panthers. His ties to Philadelphia were never more obvious than after the Eagles’ regular season win against the Colts. Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirianni spent three years working under Reich as the Colts’ offensive coordinator and voiced his displeasure with Reich’s firing with an expletive-filled post-game rant.
Before taking the Indianapolis job, Reich served as Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator from 2016-17, a stint that included the team’s first Super Bowl win.
If Reich had not taken the Panthers' job, some speculated that he would return to Philadelphia as offensive coordinator, assuming current coordinator Shane Steichen left for another team.
The Colts still haven’t replaced Reich, and the Cardinals HC job is still open. If the Eagles play well in Arizona, could Steichen keep this "Philly Thing" going?
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