Whisenhunt latest Eagles surprise
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Whisenhunt latest Eagles surprise
Les Bowen
As the Eagles mark the two-week anniversary of Andy Reid's departure, they confirmed they interviewed Ken Whisenhunt, just fired by the Cardinals, on Monday, as a prelude to interviewing Cincinnati offensive coordinator Jay Gruden later in the day.
Whisenhunt, who turns 51 next month, was said to be close to getting the Cleveland job last week, but reportedly couldn't agree with the Browns on whether the front office would have veto power on his staffing decisions. He also has interviewed with the Chargers.
Some people feel the Cardinals' front office had more to do with 2012's 5-11 record than Whisenhunt, who went 45-51 overall, but took the Cards to the franchise's first Super Bowl. Whisenhunt was well-regarded as the Steelers' Super Bowl-winning offensive coordinator under Bill Cowher.
Whisenhunt gets demerits for his handling of the Cards' QB situation after Kurt Warner retired. That's a critical question for the Eagles as they try to decide whether to move forward with Nick Foles.
Indianapolis offensive coordinator and former Temple coach Bruce Arians remains to be interviewed. Reports have indicated that would happen Tuesday, but the Eagles said Monday that an interview with Arians has not yet been scheduled. The team did ask for and receive permission to speak with Arians.
In the small world department, Arians was Whisenhunt's quarterbacks coach in Pittsburgh. Aside from being 60 years old, Arians seems to fit many of the criteria Eagles chairman Jeffrey Lurie cited when he fired Reid. Arians seems to be in demand with several teams interviewing him, after he went 9-3 as the Colts' interim head coach, while Chuck Pagano was being treated for cancer.
FOX's Jay Glazer reported today that the Eagles' Saturday interview with Gus Bradley went well and that the Birds want to meet again with Bradley, who like Arians and Whisenhunt, has other suitors. Lurie has seemed leery of a defensive-oriented coach, and the scoring fest of last weekend's playoff games underscores why -- it's an offensive league now. But not all the coaches who won were offensive guys, they just presided over potent offenses.
Meanwhile, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman was blasted by CBSSports.com's Jason LaCanfora. Howie seems to have made some enemies.
Comments (53)
Down, down, down we go. The eagle has....crashed!!— bigdaddyG- If Whisenhunt had a problem with Cleveland, "Banner", then he would love Philly "Roseman", especially when Roseman tells him that he has to bring back Washburn and Babin.— James40
- Marty Mohrningwig has an interview with the Eagles this Wed according to Jay Glazer— usedtobefromphilly
- Whisenhunt seems like a very good coach, and a fresh start could be the thing. On the other hand, his team was incredibly inconsistent, and he seemed to botch the whole quarterback position.— armchairGM
- bringing in ray rhodes tomorrow followed by rich kotite , and still No JON gruden ??? good grief !— ingy9
- There are only 2 coaches in the NFL who thought Kevin Kolb could be a starting QB. The Eagles just fired one of them. Why would you hire the other?— mish798798
- You are assuming that Whisenhunt had the authority to make that call. And Kolb probably is an upgrade for them, believe it or not. — cdedrick05
- Wow. Just Wow. This charade of a head coach search give me a whole new level of immense respect for Clark Hunt. True, we couldn't wait to get rid of Andy because it was way past time for a change, but you gotta hand it to Clark. He quickly identified the man he wanted and made it happen. None of this pathetic "no stone unturned" merry-go-round.— Squizzy Magee
- I hate to say it , but maybe we shoulda just kept Andy , he's better than most of these coaches we're interviewing . . . who's next Ditka ...— ingy9
- Whisenhunt is a better choice than Bradley or Lovie. Whisenhunt has been to the super bowl. If he can make Foles into a Curt Warner then he is the man.— Taser
- Gus Bradley as HC and Whisenhunt as OC.— Copper34
- And Lovie as DC — gdibig
- I saw a few Cards games (other than the one in which they destroyed the Eagles). They had the worst O-line I've ever seen -- yes, even worse than ours. Not for nothing did Zona go thru QBs like kleenex in flu season. I think Whisenhunt is a good coach, given the tools; he proved that three years ago. Is he the right coach for Philly? I don't know, but there's nothing wrong with talking to him.— JBirks
- He has taken a franchise with clueless ownership to the Super Bowl, so he does have at least one of the required skills for this job.— hillbillybirdsfan
- When do we interview Fassel?— casehop
- Prediction: The Eagles will find someone (probably a position coach) from one of the teams that participates in the Super Bowl to fill the coaching vacancy. This person will be touted as the coach the Eagles wanted all along. This coach will also happen to be the first of many to whom the job was offered to accept it. This coach will accept the job because, A) the Eagles offered a lot of money and B) all of the other coaching vacancies were filled.
I actually like this choice, if he gets staff say. BTW, Whisenhunt's hands were firmly tied about Kolb. The Cards' front office gave Kolb 64 million right off the bat, or at least 20 something million guaranteed without having even played a down for them. Then Arizona totally failed to shore up their line. The funny thing is, Kolb went 4-1, got hurt, and the team went into the toilet with Skelton. The exact opposite happened with the QBs last year if memory serves. I like this a whole lot. But what about defense??— kjuggs77- Isn't Barry Switzer available?— HolidayinCambodia
- NO WAY !! We dont want him..Maybe as OC, Lovie as DC, and how bout Mccoy or Bradley for HC......No college coach,No old head coach!! No Marty either! We want fresh,young ,hungry and new!!— tommy129
- Who is "we"? — DogBiscuitthedope
- NO WAY !! We dont want him..Maybe as OC, Lovie as DC, and how bout Mccoy or Bradley for HC......No college coach,No old head coach!! No Marty either! We want fresh,young ,hungry and new!!— tommy129
- Silly. Only coach in recent memory to employee QB Committee....with 3 players!
- I'm laughing my head off. For those who say having a Super Bowl ring is everything, here is your man - Ken Whisenhunt, the coach Arizona fired so they could hire Andy Reid. Welcome to reality, Reid haters.— p-diddy
- The reality, p-diddy, is that another season with your hero was out of the question. How you could watch the comedy of the past five years and defend that coach is incomprehensible to me. Whether it's Bradley, Gruden, Smith, or anyone with some measure of coaching success, I'll take my chances and not look back. Reid. No way you're serious unless you're related or in denial. I'm thinking the latter.
- Lou Holtz next.— Relocator
- Just put Ted Williams head on the sideline and call it a day.— guyguy4
- Some of you guys are DD's. Dramatic Diva's! They sky is not falling and they are interviewing equal talented wanna be HC. There is no stud out there. They will select when its right for them.— JJReid
- If you look at Warner's numbers between 2002 and 2006 they are injury filled and when he did play Warner was very Kolb like. Whisenhunt should get some credit for resurrecting Kurt Warner's career. What makes it more improbable is that it happened in Arizona, with the Bidwell's. The Bidwell family is so cheap they eat cornflakes with a fork to save milk.
— James40 - — Taser
Lovie has also been to a superbowl and had a better all around record and more playoff wins than Wisenhunt. Kurt Warner was Kurt Warner long before he landed in Arizona.— Hemingway - OHHH MY GOD... If I hear one more coach who has failed being considered I'm going to find another team... GUS BRADLEY WHY WONT THIS STUPID OWNER DO THE RIGHT THING AND HIRE HIM NOW...— CSM2003
- Does Roseman have ANY clue on how to fill the vacant Head Coach position, or for that matter...be an NFL GM? I see nothing more in the papers/media than examples of the Red-Chinese School of Management.
Yo, Howie, lucky for you that no one has figured out that you are no more than a bean counter with a Law Degree.
Wake-up, Lurie...er, Mrs. Lurie...protect your investment with someone who knows what they're are doing! Try the Wharton School.— foxhill106 - stop screwing around and hire bradley.— sgamble077
- Lets face it. Firing AR was no surprise Either no plan, or busted plan!! It seems obvious that the organization cannot attract the of caliber of coach, they themselves said they were after. Save your money folks, the next few years is going to be mess. Maybe the Eagles can pilot the new $20 NFL game ticket, thats the only way I will be going.— keithf35
- The Eagles are embarrassing themselves. They got rejected by all the middleschool girls for the prom, now they are looking to the fat chicks in Highschool. Uh.....Wow, should be familiar territory for both Roseman and Lurie— yourdaddy!
- Hue Jackson did an amazing job at Oakland in his brief stint. He deserves a look.— gubbers97
- Five franchises have NOT yet named a coach, which is not like choosing which bagel to have with breakfast. The media has now guessed everybody possible and is annoyned that the Eagles have not yet chosen one of the media darlings. For once, why not WAIT until the process is done and a coach is chosen before blasting the team?— chuckw
- I cant remember, did it take this long 14 years ago to pick AR ?— Pomp
- Copper34= I had posted the same Bradley/Whisenhut duo possibility yesterday. If not them, then an Arians/Lovie Smith duo. Bradley and Arains have jobs, so they have to take HC positions, The other 2 coaches as of now are unemployed, so they fall to coordinators.— watsonmr
- Finally Whisenhunt. You have to talk to the guy, especially with thee run of success guys who lost SBs at their first stop are having. There could be many reasons for his problems at AZ. If this comes down to Bradley and Whis I'm happy, two solid choices. Still hard to believe the complete lack of understanding this process many commenters have shown, and jumping to conclusions about what is happening when NO information is coming out except who and when. It's OK, there's no penalty for trying to make an informed decision.— EagleEye61
- WMR, thinking along those lines too. Some of these interviews may be to guage interest in OC and DC jobs if they don't land HC jobs.— tpizza
- I really think the Eagles need a defensive minded coach.— wwhickok
- Many of these posts say more about the poster than the eagles. the ones embarrassing themselves are the posters who make childish attacks and personal remarks. Once they choose a coach, then we have something to talk about— phillyboy59
- HEY EAGLES FANS, LOL NOW HERE THIS "THE DARK DAYS ARE HERE AND UNTIL WE GET RID OF ROSEMAN THEY WILL BE HERE TO STAY"!!!! NO EXPERIENCED/PROVEN HEAD COACH IS GOING TO WANT TO ANSWER TO ROSEMAN PERIOD GODLEN BOY OR NOT!!! HES NEVER PLAYED A DOWN IN THE NFL AND MOST IF NOT ALL THE COACHES HAVE AT LEAST PLAYED FOOTBALL ON SOME SORT OF LEVEL ROSEMAN HASNT SO HOW WILL IT LOOK WITH A GUYS LIKE GRUEDEN OR SMITH OR COWHER OR DUNGY ANSWERING TO THAT LAME!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! IF HE WAS A GM THAT HAS ACTUALLY CONSTRUCTED A WINNER AND HAS A SUPER BOWL TO HIS CREDIT THEN AND ONLY THEN I THINK EXPERIENCED HEAD COACHES WILL NOT MIND REPORTING TO HIM LOL!!!! THE DOG DAYS ARE HERE AND HERE TO STAY LOL!!!! I LEFT TOWN WITH REID LMAO I LIKE HIM NEED A FRESH START LOL!!!! AND VICKS ON THE NEXT THING SMOKING OUTTA THERE SO HE CAN GET BACK TO FOCUSING ON THE TASK AT HAND PROVING THE HATERS WRONG LOL!!! MEANWHILE THE FANS IN PHILLY ARE THE ONES LEFT HOLDING THE BAG!!!!!! MAKE SURE YOU GUYS DRAW THEM FROWNY FACES CLEAR ENOUGH SO WE CAN SEE THEM CLEARLY ON TV THIS FALL LOL!!!! AND DO TELL OTHER EAGLES FANS TO RECYCLE THERE BROWN BAGS LMAO!!!! INFACT TELL ROSEMAN TO GET OUT HIS RECYCLE BEN SO PHILLY WONT BECOME AN ENVIORMENTAL HAZZARD LOL!!! AND OH YEA, GOOD LUCK WITH THE KEN WISENHUNTS OF THE WORLD LOL!!!! YOU GUYS ASKED FOR NOW YOUR GETTING WHAT YOU DESERVED/ASKED FOR LOL!!!— DJ_Bootleggah
- The Eagles will never get a good team together until Howie finds a new vocation.— Cardinal Fang
- If I'm a stud coach and Roseman showed up, I would look at him as a dork and not be comfortable that he is building the team I am supposed to coach to a Super Bowl.— pslions
- based on the moronic comments of some, I guess the eagles will be the only team in NFL history not to be able to hire a head coach. The thing is that most teams that need a new coachdont have a great situation or they wouldnt be looking for a new coach. I am not a big fan of Howie or Lurie but there are worse sitautions out there and they will find a coach. I just think Lurie needs to make a decision and pick someone. You guys need some perspective.— phillyboy59
- What's the rush? It's not like we're down to 2 coaching prospects and a good franchise is hot on the one we really want. There are tons of candidates. Besides, it's the SECOND most important decision the franchise faces.
That's because until we draft a stud quarterback -- it's not Foles, folks, and some of us knew right away that signing an injury-prone, under-motivated guy like Vick was a major mistake -- we could clone Vince Lombardi, Chuck Noll and Bill Walsh combined to coach this team, and we'd be lucky to finish 8-8.— eman - The rush is you secure quality while quality is available and before it is hired away by your competition so you don't have to settle for the Mornhinweg's of the world.
- A whole bunch of teams are still looking for coaches. Why is it that so many think the Eagles don't have a coach yet because they don't have a clue? Bradley can talk real turkey now. Maybe he can get DRC to play and not loaf. As for DC's as head coaches, the best offense in the league is run by a defensive guy. Belichek may have made a deal with the devil, but he proves that a coach with a defensive background doesn't automatically mean your offense will suck.
As for people wanting to work with Howie, the better question is: does Howie want to work with anybody? There's only one GM in the league who feels he *has* to be able to crow that HE'S the guy who got the SB for the team, and that's Jerry Jones. You see how well that's worked out. They've struggled to make the playoffs, let alone be a contender ever since he took over the job.
Howie, don't make that mistake.— phlexpat - What is the rush? I don't care if they interview a hundred people for the job. There is no clock running on this thing. Take your time, get the right person.— lefty27
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