When They Were Kings

Merrill Reese, who has broadcast every Philadelphia Eagles game since the 1977 season, simply calls it "the greatest defense in the history" of the team.

It is the 1991 defense, a unit that included such iconic Eagles as Reggie White, Seth Joyner, Jerome Brown and Andre Waters. Statistically, it was one of the best defensive units to ever take the field, finishing the year No. 1 in total defense, rushing defense and passing defense - the first team to achieve the Triple Crown since the "Purple People Eater"-era Minnesota Vikings in 1975.

Yet, those who played for the '91 defense often talk about that year with tinges of regret for one simple reason: Despite finishing 10-6, the team failed to make the playoffs. The result, says then-cornerback Eric Allen, is that the unit has been relegated to a "footnote" in history.

That may be true in some places. But not in Philadelphia, where - nearly 20 years after it last walked off the carpet at Veterans Stadium - the '91 unit is still held up as the standard for defensive excellence, beloved for both its dominance and the characters that made up the group. Here is their story:

Buddy's pals

In January 1991, 3 days after the team's third consecutive first-round playoff loss, Eagles owner Norman Braman fired popular coach Buddy Ryan. Six hours later, Braman replaced Ryan with offensive coordinator Rich Kotite. "It is time to stop being a bridesmaid and become a bride," Braman said at the time. "We hope we made the moves today that will get us to the Promised Land." The offense Kotite oversaw the previous season was actually ranked No. 3 in the NFL. The defense, though, had been assembled by Ryan - and the unit's loyalties remain, to this day, with Ryan.

Seth Joyner, linebacker: Clearly, no one was happy with the move . . . We were a 10-, 11-game winner over a 3-year span . . . You turn around and let the head coach go who put it all together? Winning head coaches don't usually get fired. So there was a lot of animosity and a lot of bitterness that went on as far as players are concerned.

Britt Hager, linebacker: You not only lost Buddy, but you lost [defensive coordinator] Jeff Fisher . . . So not only your head coach, who's a defensive-minded coach, but you lost a coordinator that we all admired, enjoyed and wanted to play for.

Byron Evans, linebacker: Jeff Fisher, Wade Phillips. Who's going to be the next coach? . . . To let [Ryan] go was a big shocker. And to go get Rich Kotite was a bigger shocker.

Wes Hopkins, safety: We were mainly upset that Jeff Fisher didn't get the head-coaching job . . . Jeff was our defensive coordinator, and when Braman made that decision to go with Kotite, it was based on what our offense was doing . . . Why would you make the head coach our offensive coordinator who's over one of the bad offenses in the league, over the defensive coordinators of one of the best defenses in the league?

Eric Allen, cornerback: The year before Kotite took over, he was on our staff as the offensive coordinator, sort of hired without Buddy's approval. And the first practice, there was tension between him and the defensive side of the ball. He kind of came with the view that this was like other teams, and defensively, we're going to cow down and let the offense run us over. For Buddy and our team, that wasn't the case. Our defense, we were the lead dogs. We were the ones you made waves for. There were a couple comments early between Kotite and Jerome Brown in 1990, and it kind of set the direction of our relationship from then on.

Kotite: When I went there in 1990, I went as the offensive coordinator. And when we went to training camp, this I had never seen before. Players on offense told me their curfew was at 11 p.m. The

defensive curfew was midnight . . . You tell me the atmosphere that was created there? . . . I understood how it was. I understood all that stuff.

Joyner: As a defensive team, we had no idea who Rich Kotite was. There was no back-and-forth between us and him before he was hired as the head coach. He didn't really know the defensive players. And his personality changed once he became the head coach, which also rubbed guys the wrong way . . . We didn't really respect him.

Kotite: I never was in the business of trying to have everybody like me. And they had a heck of allegiance to an outstanding coach. And that was great. All I cared about, did it help the football team?

Allen: We're still working with Buddy and his principles as the mode of operation. Kotite is just kind of a figurehead. He doesn't really have anything to do with us, to be honest. He doesn't really speak to us. It's not a really good relationship.

Kotite: The most important thing, I've always felt, I'm not running for office. I'm not running a popularity contest. And I think I got the right guy to [run the defense], and we did some very good things.

The Carson show

When Jeff Fisher left Philadelphia to become the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams, Kotite hired former Cleveland Browns coach Bud Carson to replace him. Carson had a storied history, including two Super Bowl victories with the Pittsburgh Steelers as defensive coordinator - the architect of the "Steel Curtain" of the 1970s.

Kotite: My No. 1 task was to get a great defensive coach. And I got Bud Carson, who in my estimation, was as good as anyone I'd ever seen.

Merrill Reese: Bud Carson, to me, belongs in the Hall of Fame . . . He was an average head coach, but as a defensive coordinator he was absolutely brilliant. He looked like a college professor going back in his laboratory and stirring something up, and then making it work.

Joyner: We weren't really happy to have Bud Carson come in as a defensive coordinator, but as time went on, we implemented some of the things we were doing and we saw how legitimate he was as defensive coordinator. As time went on, our impression of who he was and what he could do for us changed dramatically.

Mike Pitts, defensive lineman: We knew that Bud would probably come in and make a few changes, but to be honest with you, the changes weren't that drastic. He knew he had a good defense, so why change things?

Allen: He gave Buddy the utmost respect in the meetings by mentioning, "You know what? I don't have to do a lot here. You guys understand the plays. You guys are extremely tough. You guys have been coached well, you guys are intelligent, smart football team . . . I'm going to move guys around a little bit to put you in better position to make plays."