New Eagles asst. a scapegoat in Dallas?
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New Eagles asst. a scapegoat in Dallas?
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
On Sunday, after news broke that the Eagles had added assistant Brian Stewart to the defensive staff, we took a look back at his firing in Dallas.
Stewart was the defensive coordinator with the Cowboys, but had to give up play-calling duties in the middle of last season and was let go by Wade Phillips at the end of the year.
But did he deserve to get fired? In the earlier post, we cited several Dallas-area scribes who ripped into Phillips for making Stewart the scapegoat for an underachieving defense.
However, none of those columns delivered the kind of beatdown you can find in today's Fort Worth Star-Telegram, courtesy of columnist Jennifer Floyd Engel.
Engel slams Phillips and the Cowboys for making Stewart the scapegoat for Dallas missing out on the playoffs:
Can you believe those idiot Eagles? Hiring Brian Stewart this week as a "special assistant" on defense with speculation in Philly papers that he may be next in line? Apparently, word has not traveled that Stewart is in over his head. In coach Andy Reid’s defense, the Cowboys did not start circulating this "info" until Stewart was needed as a scapegoat for what again had been an underwhelming season. Suddenly, only then, did we learn Stewart was an idiot.
Engel argues that the Cowboys' players were the problem on defense. According to her column, Dallas had to get rid of someone after its disappointing season. It wasn't going to be Phillips. And it certainly wasn't going to be offensive coordinator Jason Garrett:
What sealed his fate, according to a source, was offensive coordinator Jason Garrett failing to get a job this off-season. Jerry [Jones] wanted change but knew he could not fire Wade and keep Jason so Stewart became the one to go, fired rather than say the head coach who was in charge of the defense.
There's much more, but I'll let you read the rest for yourselves. I saw comments when the Eagles hired Stewart questioning the move, and pointing to the struggles of the Cowboys' defense last season. But as Engel eloquently describes, there's another side to the story.
More later, including your reaction to my post yesterday about whether the Eagles need to add a veteran running back.
Blat-boom ba diggy boom!!!— brmorgen81- Funny. Ray Didinger. I mean Hall of Fame Writer Ray Didinger said, at the beginning of the season, that the 'girls defense has talent that was just scary. They were THAT good. Hmmm. And he's a HOF guy.— Justanothervoice
funny if you read the comments left on that dallas article, lots of them saying they'd rather have reid than wade any day (which should be pretty obvious). it's also really dumb to say he is in over his head and taht he couldn't make it as a DC. he was brought in to be a secondary coach. not our DC. obviously the eagles are gonna go witht he guy who knows jimmy johnsons scheme. and as an added bonus, stewart knows the cowboys defense— MPatt24- To "Justanotheridiot". You should be in The Hall of Shame. You think you have the knowledge to rip Ray Didinger. Just the rip alone shows your overall knowledge. The only team to expose that defense early in the season, was the Eagles. They just underachieved, especially when the soap opera started rolling later in the season. The Cowboys have gone to one of the more respected organizations to the most dysfunctional franchises in Sport. We used to laugh about the Eagles going after character guys. Got your back Ray!— amaysnfoods
- JustanotherMondaymorninQB, I challenge you to put your predictions up here for the coming season, moron, we'll see how you do.
- JustanotherMondaymorninQB, I challenge you to put your predictions up here for the coming season, moron, we'll see how you do.
- Okay. I thought it might be just me thought something was weird about getting a guy from the Cowflops to help out with our defense. Glad to hear words that make me think this guy was a good coach in a BAAAD situation.— TBear
- To amaysnfoods, lol!!! Everyone has Ray's back.— skater262
- Why don't the Eagles sign James to a one year contract? He still averaged 4.0 yards a carry last year for the Cardinals. They could always cut him in camp if Brian is okay.— The Marco Islander
Comment removed.- All those who worship Ray Didi like he is a God or something, chillax. I am entitled to rip Didi when he is dead wrong (which is often) and praise him when he is dead right (which also is often). I don't need "knowledge" to rip Didi, just his predictions and his results. And Didi, I know your PR consultant told you that the old school yellow notepad with handwriting in it is a good prop. He or she was wrong. Lose it and come up with another prop to make you appear smart, like a bowtie.— PhillyPhantastico
- Huh? Who thinks Stewart is next in line to become D coordinator? McDermott is getting that job if anyone is. The Eagles have said nothing about bringing in Stewart to become D coordinator. If he's calling anyone "idiots", then it should be the local media if they think Stewart is being groomed to become D coordinator.— JimG
- James wants to start, we dont want him on our bench whining when he gets no pt. If I recall, I thought the cowboys D got a bit better the few games following Wade taking over the defense? Of course their season didnt end well, but you do have to wonder if it was a legit firing and not just a scapegoat. He wont be our D coordinator anyway and is prob a good addition to staff and can work his way into learning our system.— peteike
- James will go where ever the money is just like any other player. If he is better than the other backs on the field he deserves to start until Brian is healthy.— The Marco Islander
- I don't want to even think about somebody replacing JJ.— dj.curly
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