Eagles Notes: Eagles hire assistant LB coach

INDIANAPOLIS - The Eagles added former Jets assistant coach Brian Smith to their coaching staff as assistant linebackers coach, a new position for the team.

Smith, 35, spent the last two seasons as the Jets' assistant defensive backs coach. The Wilmington native had been with the team since 2007.

He started his coaching career at UMass, where he was Giants receiver Victor Cruz's position coach. Smith played for the Minutemen as a strong safety and cornerback.

He will work with outside-linebackers coach Bill McGovern and inside-linebackers coach Rick Minter.

The Eagles now have 23 coaches on Chip Kelly's staff.

Penn State is well represented at the combine with five invitees: offensive lineman Donovan Smith, tight end Jesse James, free safety Adrian Amos, outside linebacker Mike Hull, and kicker Sam Ficken.

This group stuck with Penn State through two coaching changes and the fallout from the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal. Smith, who could be a Day 2 selection, said the experience "made me into the man I am today."

"You know you have to learn to go through adversity," Smith said. "That's what it taught me. Life is not easy. Things are going to be thrown at you every which kind of way. You have to be able to adjust and adapt."

Ficken is an example. He missed four field goals in a one-point loss to Virginia in 2012. Former coach Bill O'Brien stood by him, and Ficken connected on a game-winning field goal in the Pinstripe Bowl victory in December. That experience showed Ficken the extremes of a kicker's psyche.

"It's a little bit of added value," Ficken said. "At this level, you're expected to go out and make every kick. But it shows something I went through as a person, shows my character on a big stage."

New Jets coach Todd Bowles spent just one season in Philadelphia, and it was the team's disastrous 4-12 campaign in 2012. But the trying period for Andy Reid, which included the death of his son and his dismissal, resonated with Bowles as he prepares to be a head coach.

"I have learned more from that year from adversity and from a respect standpoint than I have from anybody I've been around," said Bowles, who played for Temple. "Hats off to Coach Reid for teaching me a lot about humility, a lot about leadership, a lot about character and determination. I think that helped me going forward."

Reid praised Bowles, who was hired as defensive backs coach and was promoted to defensive coordinator after Juan Castillo's ouster. He credited Bowles' people skills, football knowledge, and ability to communicate.

"I wished we would have had him sooner on staff," Reid said. "I tried getting him one other time and wasn't able to do it."