Eagles fire Daisher, hire April
The Philadelphia Daily News - Eagletarian
Eagles fire Daisher, hire April
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
Updated:
The Eagles have fired special teams coordinator Ted Daisher after one season in his second tour with the Eagles and replaced him with Bobby April, who spent the last 6 years with the Buffalo Bills.
April opted out of the final year of his contract with the Bills, effectively deciding he would rather take his chances on the market, as the team searches for a head coach. He has the kind of reputation that makes a move like that less than suicidal. April joined the Bills in 2004 under Mike Mularkey as the special teams coordinator and then was promoted to assistant head coach/special teams when Dick Jauron was hired in 2006.
The Eagles did not release terms of his contract but ESPN reported that the deal is for 3 years. Several other teams were interested in April, including the Steelers.
April told reporters in a conference call that good special teams have to have "a tremendous selflessness," since their work is so anonymous. He said it's important to set up an internal rewards system for special teamers. "It takes a special guy," he said.
"My main attributes -- and hopefully I have more than just these two -- I have the ability to be optimistic, and I have a lot of energy," April said.
He said he had known Eagles coach Andy Reid since the early '80s, when Reid coached with April at San Francisco State.
“Bobby April has proven himself as one of the top special teams coaches in this league,” Reid said in a statement. “I have spoken with many coaches and players who have worked with and played under Bobby directly and they have had nothing but the highest regard for him in terms as a coach and as a person. We look forward to adding him to our coaching staff and building upon the excellent job our special teams did last year.”
During April's tenure, Bills punter Brian Moorman earned two Pro Bowl berths and punt returner Roscoe Parrish led the NFL with a 15.3-yard punt return average in 2008. That year, rookie kickoff returner Leodis McKelvin finished third in the NFL with a 28.2-yard average. In addition, Terrence McGee earned a Pro Bowl berth as a kick returner in 2004 under April as he set a franchise record with three kickoff returns for a touchdown. In 2005, Bills long snapper Mike Schneck joined Moorman on the AFC Pro Bowl squad.
April, 56, was twice named special teams coach of the year by his peers, in 2004 and 2008. He has 18 years experience in the NFL with Atlanta, Pittsburgh, New Orleans and Buffalo.
As for Daisher, the Eagles' units struggled at times, including the Birds having to use a timeout against Dallas on a punt when Reid said the correct players were not on the field. However, the Eagles did have a Pro Bowl kicker in David Akers and a Pro Bowl punt returner in DeSean Jackson, and they seemed to make progress in coverage from 2008, when now-defensive line coach Rory Segrest ran the special teams.
In a statement, Reid also confirmed what we reported earlier (see below) about the dismissals of strength coach Mike Wolf and assistant Jay Merlino.
“We appreciate the efforts and contributions of those three men," Reid said. "I have the highest regard for Ted as a special teams coach and as a person. He’s an excellent football coach and the numbers and production on the field this past year proved that. We just decided to go in another direction. I have no doubt Ted will land on his feet with another NFL team and do a great job. As far as Mike Wolf, he has been nothing but a professional and diligent strength coach for this franchise over the past 15 seasons. He has been a big part in the success the Eagles have had in recent years. We appreciate all the work he and Jay Merlino put in with our players to help them maximize their efforts on the field.”
Updated: A source close to the situation confirms the team has dismissed strength coaches Mike Wolf and Jay Merlino.
An Eagles spokesman could not confirm or deny the report, he said. There is a fan discussion thread of the move on the team Web site's "talk about the Eagles" section, started last night, that has not been locked or taken down, as one would expect if a baseless rumor about a staff dismissal was being discussed.
This is an interesting development, coming after the back-to-back blowout losses to the Cowboys, who seemed bigger and better conditioned than the Eagles.
A Jan.8 Daily News story detailed how several Eagles players felt they'd improved their strength and conditioning working with a Cherry Hill trainer, Steve Saunders.
Wolf just completed his 15th season with the team. He was the NFL's strength and conditioning coach of the year in 2001, voted by his peers. Merlino, an assistant, worked for the team 8 years.
The other assistant to Wolf, Barry Rubin, is being retained. Rubin was the Packers' head strength and conditioning coach from 1999-2005, and an assistant before that, from 1995-98, when he would have known Andy Reid. It's unclear whether Rubin will replace Wolf.
An attempt to contact Wolf was unsuccessful.
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Also, Eagles fullback Leonard Weaver was a first-team All-Pro selection by the AP. Second-teamers were kicker David Akers, defensive end Trent Cole, returner DeSean Jackson and corner Asante Samuel.
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To read our previous post on Tim McDermott, Sean's brother, being hired to head up the Eagles' marketing efforts, click here.
Too many injuries the last 4-5 years. The first 4-5 years of Reid era the team was very injury free. This is a good move. Maybe complacency took over, fresh air in conditioning is a good thing.— Cant Climb- Our special teams wasn't that bad to warrant daisher's firing. The special teams was average at best.The defense is what got us beat and stunk almost all season, not too mention the offensive playcalling. How can u allow a team to call wr screens 10-15 times a game and not take that away from them? How can u see your QB pressured and continue to call 7 step dropback pass plays every single time. Run playaction pass plays and not run the ball enough to even sell it? I will say April is one of the best special teams coaches and was a great hire. I hope mcdermott is next cause he sucks. Cant start different linebackers and safties every week and expect consistency, plus he cant adjust if the defensive gameplan is not working. I dont know why u guys want marty to be gone cause marty is a "yes" person so its not gonna make a difference. Reid will just find another OC to run what plays he likes. Thats why childress bolted out of here when the minnesota job opened. You see how childress calls plays. I would like to see mcnabb stay, but he just is not a fit with this offense. If the offensive philosophy changes with a run first aproach to set up the pass then keep him if not..then trade mcnabb.— bigjay215
- Found this on an "Iggles Blog" site when Daisher was hired. Ted Daisher, the assistant special teams coach under John Harbaugh in 2004-2005 and then the special teams coordinator in Oakland and Cleveland since, has returned to assume the role of special teams coordinator here. "Ted broke into the league with us, so I have had the chance to see him coach," said Reid. "Then he moved on and had success in Oakland and for the last couple of years in Cleveland. I had the chance to interview a few guys, and Ted did a great job. Ted became the obvious choice to fill this role." Sound like scapegoat to me.— watsonmr
- What a joke. These firings solve nothing. Alot of people in this organization need to be held accountable and deserve a ton of blame for how the season ended. So they fire the ST coach and strength and conditioning coaches what a joke. So they are the reason we didnt beat a winning team this year. They were holdin us back from winning the big one. i think Andy thinks he can make this small change to make it look like hes changing things when really hes not. We still havent solved any problems at all. When is Andy finally going to wake up and do what is necessary to win. I just pray he fires MM.— Joey0210
- Of the 3, special teams were the best...— phillyflava
- No, they fired at least ONE of teh right coaches. Daisher was a dope. His fate was sealed on the field in Dallas. They must have found him on the trash heap. Oh right. Cleveland.— Bob1
- They fired the wrong coach! Fire the fat one!— Harry Hadit
- They fired the wrong coach! Fire the fat one!— Harry Hadit
Comment removed.- You know what grows under cowdung? Magic mushrooms and the Dalass Star. And don't mention Tony H0m0.— 46 and 2
- The truth is revealed, we're firing Ted Daisher cause he did a great job and the Cowboys don't have better players they just have better workouts. Gold standard operating procedure in high gear.— brs50
- raool you're right on. I hear the equipment manager is also going. The titanic is skippered by some folks who couldn't even come up with a defense to stop the Dallas receiver screen, given a week to figure it out. I also understand that Andy let Donovan be responsible for his own conditioning.— geeezer
- Thats great. However the previous special teams coach Rory Seagrest must have pictures on someone in the front office, because he also did a poor job, but he was promoted to Defensive Line coach. He may have been worse than Daischer. Is Reid using him as a partial scapegoat in using that timeout on the punt in the Dallas game.— watsonmr
- pat c- McNabb has one of the strongest arms in the league moron, the short passes is call inaccuracy, read up son. and for cowgirlsowntheeagles- please ! one successful season, ONE playoff win in 14 years and you own us ?!? HAHAHAHAHAHA dont make me laugh, oops too late.— Will.i.Am
- Marty M is the one who needs to be let go........— the tru 1
- what about the helmut coach? and the shoulder pads guy? THAT would fix things.— raoool
- Strength coaches? Ya, ok.....that's why we lost. Daischer while an improvement wasn't that great apparently or the collective IQ of the special teams players was under 100, it's a toss-up, cause nobody could count to 11. What concerns me is the old ST coach, Segrest, coaching the defensive line. Wha? Reid seems to think you can have any coach, coach any position. He just plays musical chairs til all his positions are filled. What ever happened to having a dedicated specialty coach for each unit of the team? What ever happened to a running game? What ever happened to a QB able to hit a receiver in stride with the ball? You fix those things, you've fixed most of your problems, AR. Time is yours.— Mark1npt
- Strength coaches? Ya, ok.....that's why we lost. Daischer while an improvement wasn't that great apparently or the collective IQ of the special teams players was under 100, it's a toss-up, cause nobody could count to 11. What concerns me is the old ST coach, Segrest, coaching the defensive line. Wha? Reid seems to think you can have any coach, coach any position. He just plays musical chairs til all his positions are filled. What ever happened to having a dedicated specialty coach for each unit of the team? What ever happened to a running game? What ever happened to a QB able to hit a receiver in stride with the ball? You fix those things, you've fixed most of your problems, AR. Time is yours.— Mark1npt
- Strength coaches? Ya, ok.....that's why we lost. Daischer while an improvement wasn't that great apparently or the collective IQ of the special teams players was under 100, it's a toss-up, cause nobody could count to 11. What concerns me is the old ST coach, Segrest, coaching the defensive line. Wha? Reid seems to think you can have any coach, coach any position. He just plays musical chairs til all his positions are filled. What ever happened to having a dedicated specialty coach for each unit of the team? What ever happened to a running game? What ever happened to a QB able to hit a receiver in stride with the ball? You fix those things, you've fixed most of your problems, AR. Time is yours.— Mark1npt
- April is a great coach, he will do great things for the special teams. This is only the first step guys. I have this feeling that major changes are coming with some key players. Although I know do want McNabb to be replaced at this point, he is one of the best qyuarterbacks that the Eagles have had in recent memory. Ron Jawarski was a great guy too, a Lackawanna, NY native— crohnkiller
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- Daishers going is a step in the right direction. Special teams was hideous all year and could have potentially injured one of our young receivers.— sonofnash
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That's a start, Now if you could fire McDermott,Stinko Harris and The Andrews Sisters we could talk serious buisness!— citysims- This team is not broken and going into next year the offensive side is set. We are set at WR w/ Avant, Maclin & Jackson. Set at TE w/ Celek and Ingram. Set at RB w/ Westbrook, McCoy and Weaver. If the Andrews brothers can ever get healthy that would also be a tremendous boost. The only thing I think this team needs is a strong nose RB and a center. They can find a hard nose runner anywhere but the center might be a big gap to fill. This offseason should be used to shore up the D-line and secondary.— Nothing but the truth
- mcat13 are you Eskin in disguise?— toolhead713
They changed the wrong coach.- Since when does special teams win Super Bowls, a part of the puzzle, although the quarterback is still the most important position.— toolhead713
- Great; as usual pick on the chump that probably speaks up for himself. (1) MARTY needs to GO and (2) whoever the D backs coach is; special teams weren't that bad..the problem is and has been the combination of personnell, play calling (O philosophy), the outdated Jimmy Johnson (of the cowyboys; lighter and faster Dfense) D and big Reds inability to hold people accountable...I need some Buddy Ryan; throw a player under the bus, throw a coach under the bus; argue with the owner; punch an assistant coach for Christ sake....Try not shotgunning when you have a lame back up center; try letting him double with the guard vs. the 3-4 and have a fullback lead block to take on one of the middle LB's; off guard takes the other middle; tight end or WR blocks backside backer and and the tackle takes the strong side LB..COMMON SENSE AR!! YOU SHOULD BE GONE!— RoastedBird
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- Until Reid can see that having McNabb as a quarterback is not going to put you over the top, this team will reach the playoffs, and never the Super Bowl. Eagles fans will keep filling the stadium, and the pockets of Jeff Lurie, so no changes will take place. Stupid Eagles fans. GO PHILS! Glad football is over.— toolhead713
- You people are clowns. The Eagles just made a fantastic move. Bobby April is THE best special teams coach in the league. It will have a huge impact on this team. Yet you somehow find ways to make silly McNabb comments. The Steelers, Redskins and Packers all wanted April. Great move.— mcat13
- Thank god the Special Teams coach was more clueless than Eddie Jordan.— bigtuna
- psuwelsh I agree with you on McNabb losing some bulk to gain speed. Samuels missing tackles and giving up TD's is not a fair tradeoff with getting an INT every other game. Mikell's play dropped off severely and the FS spot was a joke. The LB's were too makeshift and the end opposite of Cole was a no show for 90% of the time. With all that said I think they can fix the defense in one broad stroke. Get an legitimate DE to go with Cole. Cole is a beast who's in the backfield every play but he's the only guy rushing the passer because the tackles are lane cloggers and the other end is non-existent. The Giants won a SuperBowl a few years back with a average secondary and LB crew. They won because they had 4 guys up front who gave the QB 2 seconds to make a read. Looking back at that team they didn't even blitz as all 4 lineman where in the backfield as soon as the QB said "hutt". If the Eagles get a stud DE to go along with Cole this defense can be stout again otherwise all of the deficiencies of our LB's and secondary will continue to get exposed.— Nothing but the truth
- If they're firing coaches then offensive line coach and the QB coach needs to go as well. Donovan McNabb is not getting the right kind of training he needs to be accurate. We need to see improvement here. I agree with some of you who said Donovan has gotten too big. I totally agree. He needs to lose some more weight so he can run like he use to. Why the heck he stop running? He might not be as fast as he use to but he needs to run more when the line breaks down or no one is open at wide receiver.— knmcmahon
- LET THE TEARDOWN BEGIN— jibberjabber
- the archetect of this whole thing needs to be fired....YOU KNOW, the guy who drafts players, selects talent, coaches them up, selects the scheme, picks the plays, calls the time outs......AND since we were out talented, out coached, our backups are just not good enough, and our scheme is so predictable it is evident that the man who has not won a Super Bowl in 11 years has no clue how to do it.......but Jeff is NOT COMMITTED TO WINNING IT ALL.....and half the fans are willing to settle for always being in second, third or fourth place, nothing will happen....but yes firing the special teams coach and the strenght coach is definitely the answere...,,,yes , fire Andy...and no stepfords that does not immmediately mean he will be replace by a kotite type......Shanahan,Gruden, Cowhere are all available and there ar othere success offensive and defensive coaches who are available.;..GET COMMITTED JEFFERY......SHOW US YOU KNOW WHAT BEING THE GOLD STANDARD REALLY MEANS.....— nuggett
- GOTZ: What I have been saying for the past TWO years. Regime change is what is needed. FFAR must go and he must go NOW>>>— momzer
- ITS GONNA BE A LONG OFFSEASON FOR YOU FILTHYDELPHIA EGIRLS FANS ENJOY IT !!!!!— CowboysOwnTheEgirls
- Special team absolutely needed the change. MARTY is still here because he apparently has chance of becoming a head coach. Absence of RUN game is Reid's doing. The embarassement in Dallas may finally show Reid the light to start PHYSICAL run game and PHYSICAL defense. PASS offense is the only part that carried the team this season.— Seed
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- It's more like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. The ship's still gonna sink.— Jimmy2times
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- McNabb's bulky physique doesn't prevent him from being an accurate passer. It's his throwing technique and footwork, and that ship sailed a long time ago. Age won't help him get any quicker. He lost weight prior to the season, and it helped. He needs to keep himself in shape. Getting him to change his technique...good luck with that one.— beegal99
- McNabb should lose some bulk and regain his mobility and quickness. He should also concentrate on more accurate passing. He is too big and too bulky.— psuwelsh
- So, that is the reason McNabb throws the ball 5 yards short all the time, the strength coach didnt give him the proper arm strenth to make the throws. The strenth coach is the one that causes Peters to go off sides 5 times a game. The strenth coach is the reason Samuels didnt tackle anyone all year. The strength coach is the one who kept shuffling safeties in to replace Dawkins. Give me a break Eagles. Fire someone who actually matters instead of having your manhood put on display by firing the strength and conditioning coach.— Pat c
- I say hire Mark McGwire away from the St. Louis Cardinals.— Phandom
- So you're spreading a rumor based upon fan speculation? Yikes. Sports reporting has no credibility these days. You guys are no better than the National Enquirer.— JimG
- maybe we should draft lb's in the 260lb range instead of 230lb so they dont get man-handled by opposing offense lines/fullbacks and tight ends. sick of this undersized "quick" defensive style...obviously it doesn't work— slovakstud18
The sacrificial lamb should be Marty M. If he returns and it's the same O as we have no it'll be time for a revolt.— tpizza
This is like throwing deck chairs off the Titanic— tornadoh- They need to fire their ACL and MCL coaches.— Joe Funk
