Ted Daisher out; Bobby April in
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
Ted Daisher out; Bobby April in
Jeff McLane, Inquirer Staff Writer
The Eagles have fired special teams coordinator Ted Daisher, after one underwhelming season, and named Bobby April as his replacement today.
The Eagles also terminated the contracts of strength and conditioning coach Mike Wolf and assistant strength and conditioning coach Jay Merlino.
“We appreciate the efforts and contributions of those three men," Eagles coach Andy 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.”
Daisher and his units struggled all season. They were whistled for way too many penalties early in the season and as the season wore on there were some crucial mistakes that occured on special teams. Kick returner Macho Harris fumbled against Denver and then the following week against Dallas Reid had to burn a costly timeout when the punt team didn't have enough men on the field.
Reid barked at Daisher when he had to waste the timeout. Reid was grilled by reporters several times about the timeout, but took full blame. He may blow way too many timeouts, but this one wasn't his fault. Of course, it may have ended up causing Daisher to lose his job.
Daisher worked with the Eagles before under the tutelage of John Harbaugh, who now is the head coach at Baltimore. He had a successful stint as a coordinator in Cleveland. He was a fiery presence at practice, but apparently that wasn't enough.
April said he has known Reid since the Eagles' coach was an assistant at San Francisco State, but this is the first time they have worked together.
"My goal as a (special teams) coach is to get the guys to create the greatest probablity of offensive and defensive success," April said during a conference call with reporters. "Every special teams play or every kicking play is either the beginning or the end of a series. All of them create a probablity by success from the offense or success from the defense."
Here's the Eagles' press release on April, who comes from Buffalo:
One of the most highly-regarded special teams coaches in recent NFL history, April spent the last six seasons with the Buffalo Bills. During his tenure in Buffalo, April guided the Bills special teams units to the number one ranking in the NFL three times, according to the intricate system compiled annually by esteemed Dallas Morning News columnist Rick Gosselin.
"Bobby April has proven himself as one of the top special teams coaches in this league,” Reid said. “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.”
Under April’s tutelage, 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, himself, was twice named special teams coach of the year by his peers in 2004 and 2008.
April has coached three players currently on the Eagles roster: long snapper Jon Dorenbos in 2004 with Buffalo, tackle Jason Peters, who blocked a punt for the Bills on December 19, 2004, at Cincinnati and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown, and WR Kevin Curtis, who was a rookie with the St. Louis Rams in 2003.
A veteran of 18 NFL seasons, the 56-year-old April began his NFL career with the Atlanta Falcons, working as the team’s tight ends and special teams coach from 1991-93. He moved on to the Pittsburgh Steelers as the special teams coordinator from 1994-95 and helped the Steelers earn a berth in Super Bowl XXX. From 1996-00, April worked with the New Orleans Saints in the same position before moving on to St. Louis from 2001-03. April began his stint in Buffalo in 2004 as the special teams coordinator before being promoted to assistant head coach/special teams prior to the 2006 season after Dick Jauron was named head coach of the Bills.
A native of New Orleans, LA, April was a four-year linebacker at Nicholls State and served as an assistant coach on the collegiate level at Southern Mississippi, Tulane, Arizona, USC and Ohio State.
glad to see some heads finally role,..next up is: rocco, the andrews sisters, sean young, reggie brown just for starters— SyddBarrett- Does this smell like an ol' "misdirection" play to anyone but me?— Mark1npt
- ted daisher- whipping boy; mike wolf and jay merlino- scapegoats; andy reid- fat idiot in denial— justatc1
- good start to what should be a very busy offseason now get arid of morhinweg— phillystrome
- I love the way Captain Andy moves the spotlight away from him and Number 5. He didn't have to call a time out when they were short a man on the punt team. They could have used the 5 yards to their advantage when they kicked. Another poor use of time-outs. The strength coaches are taking the blame for his linemen not being able to handle the Cowboys. Way to go Andy. Any more scape goats you want to fire to cover up your talent assesments, big free agent signings, cutting Dawkins loose, etc. When do you get punished?— Mr. M
- who is shean young?— JACK V
- Love to see that they feel changes are necessary.— hawk18
- add a d coordinator??...lets see, you lose your best linebacker, stewart bradley,lose your best safety, brian dawkins, and other players, and have to resort to bringing trotter back, what exactly is the coordinator sopposed to excel with this slop out there???...gimme a break....we also have an pro bowl CB who refuses to tackle not to mention sheldon brown who was hurt for much of the season and playing through pain.......come on..can we sign peppers, draft another linebacker. and the number one need for this team is GETTING A PLAYMAKING SAFETY......— DON17
- Great addition!— Murray11
Reid does not want to accept full responsibility after all.— road515- It’s a start. Now be brave enough to acknowledge and address the true short comings of this team. Earn that extension, Big Red!!— concec
- About time - great move Andy. Yes Reid took responsibility, and rightly dumped the doofus he put trust in because he set special teams play back to pre-Harbaugh mediocrity. One could tell the end was near at the end of season Dallas game when the Eagles had to use a time out because the coordinator did not put enough players on the field for a punt. You could read Andy's lips say "WTF" as he thundered over to Daisher. One could tell Andy lost all faith in him....— DE_sweeper
- It shows to go you the Vikes showed the Cowboys as a so so team on every side of the game and the Birds made the Cowboys look like a contender so much for Andy and his coaching staff— boppa2
- Well I think a coach needs to lose his job but I wasn't thinking Ted Daisher...think bigger and redder.— sandman64
- Sounds like everyone in the NFL thinks very highly of April. Tim Ryan and Pat Kirwan of Sirius NFL Radio thought it was a great hire. Everyone seems to think that Bobby April is the best in the business when it comes to special teams coaches.— bleedmidnightgreensection236
