Report: Eagles will consider Mora
Update: A couple names surfaced this morning as potential replacements for Eagles defensive coordinator Sean McDermott.
Jim L. Mora is one of them, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. And former Cardinals defensive coordinator Bill Davis is another, according to ESPN's Chris Mortensen.
Mora last coached the Seahawks in 2009. Seattle finished 5-11 before firing him. He was the Seahawks' assistant head coach/secondary coach in 2007 and 2008.
And before that, Mora was the Falcons' head coach for three seasons. Atlanta went 11-5 in his first year, 8-8 in his second season and 7-9 in his third season. Michael Vick started 46 games for Mora in those three seasons. Earlier this year, Mora interviewed him for NFL Network, and Vick opened up, telling him his whole life was a lie in Atlanta.
Mora served as the 49ers' defensive coordinator from 1999-2003. He coached the San Francisco secondary in 1997 and 1998. Mora had previous coaching stints with the Saints, Chargers and University of Washington.
Davis was fired by the Cardinals earlier this month after Arizona went 5-11. He previously coached the team's linebackers and was the 49ers defensive coordinator before that.
The Cardinals allowed 27.1 points per game in 2010. Only the Cowboys and Broncos allowed more. In 2009, they allowed 20.3, which ranked 20th in the NFL. The Cardinals also allowed 90 points in two playoff games after the '09 season.
Meanwhile, Mortensen reports that McDermott is a candidate for the defensive coordinator positions in Denver and Carolina. Ron Rivera has the head-coaching job with the Panthers and of course coached the Eagles linebackers from 1999 to 2003.
One more note on McDermott. Jeremiah Trotter was on WIP today and said that he talked to a current Eagles player this season, who called McDermott the worst defensive coordinator he's ever played for. Strong words.
Trotter didn't bite his tongue about the Eagles' former defensive coordinator a couple years ago. If you remember, ripped Jim Johnson after the Eagles' NFC championship loss to the Cardinals. And it's also worth mentioning that McDermott probably had a say in Trotter not returning this season after his stint with the Birds in 2009.
From earlier:
Less than 24 hours after the news broke that the Eagles had fired defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, we can cross one name of the list of his possible replacements.
Not only will Rob Ryan not be joining the Birds' staff, but the Eagles will have to play against him twice.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the Cowboys will hire Ryan as their next defensive coordinator.
Ryan seemed like a longshot to join the Birds, considering he was reportedly talking contract with Dallas when the McDermott news broke. But it will be impossible to find a replacement that would have been as popular as he would have been among fans.
Ryan spent the past two seasons running the Browns' defense and was the coordinator in Oakland for five years before that. His name had been mentioned as a possible head-coaching candidate this offseason.
As Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News Tweeted this morning: Buddy Ryan just cut Rob out of the will.
Mortensen said the Eagles were considering Ryan before he took the Dallas job.
Earlier Sunday, I took a look at McDermott's performance against the pass the last two seasons.
And Saturday night, I posted my reaction to the firing.
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