Eagles said to be eyeing Packers aide Darren Perry

A coaching search, much like nature, abhors a vacuum.

So, yesterday, a new favorite emerged for the Eagles' defensive coordinator job. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, citing an NFL source, reported that the Birds plan to ask permission to talk to Packers safeties coach Darren Perry after the Super Bowl concludes a week from tomorrow.

The Eagles, who are seeking to replace the fired Sean McDermott, said they could not comment because of league tampering restrictions. However, asked whether they wanted to say the report was incorrect, Eagles officials offered no response.

Perry, 42, has close ties to both Super Bowl teams. He was drafted in the eighth round by the Steelers in 1992 out of Penn State, and started for them for seven seasons. His final NFL season was with the Saints in 2000.

He returned to the Steelers as a secondary coach from 2003 to 2006, resigning when head coach Bill Cowher retired following Super Bowl XL. Perry spent two seasons coaching the Raiders' secondary, then went to the Packers.

Previously, Eagles sources have stressed that, even though at least one of their targets couldn't be interviewed until his team exited the playoffs, we shouldn't assume that person would get the job. It could well be that the team also wants to speak with someone else from the Packers or Steelers staffs, or someone from somewhere else whose name hasn't become public.

Perry was mentioned previously in Eagles speculation, along with Green Bay defensive line coach Mike Trgovac, Packers linebackers coaches Winston Moss and Kevin Greene, Steelers linebackers coach Keith Butler, and Steelers secondary coach Ray Horton. Unlike, say, Trogvac, who ran a 4-3 defense as a coordinator in Carolina, Perry is associated just about exclusively with the 3-4 scheme, as a player and as a coach. Again yesterday, a source close to the situation indicated that the Eagles will not switch to a 3-4 this offseason, with expected labor upheaval threatening their prep time.

The Journal Sentinel said Perry has a year left on his contract, and noted the Packers are free to deny permission for anything other than a head-coaching opening. But the report also noted Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy's desire to see his assistants succeed. Eagles coach Andy Reid has deep Green Bay connections, and a request from Reid might not be viewed the same as, say, a request from the Vikings.

Perry is a Dick LeBeau disciple, who played for LeBeau in Pittsburgh and coached for him there and in Cincinnati, where LeBeau spent three seasons as a head coach. Perry played alongside Rod Woodson, and can claim tutelage of Troy Polamalu and Nnamdi Asomugha, as well as Nick Collins, the Packers safety who earned a Pro Bowl berth this season. *

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