Bruce Arians is in the mix for the Eagles head coach sweepstakes.
First I want to say how much I enjoyed the performance of Johnny Football for Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl. What impressed me most about the kid is his pocket presence. Yes, I know, he gets most of his yardage and headlines on the run. But that boy can stand up and deliver from the pocket when he has to…He has moves in the pocket that remind me of Joe Namath at Alabama back when Joe Willie had two functioning knees…You know, that little crow-hop jazz-step and then the zing quick-release… And dang if Johnny didn't put the throw on the money just about every time downfield.
Anyway, back to the NFL… Eagles fans who were wary of a Chip Kelly makeover can rest well today, for it looks like Kelly is headed to Cleveland. Meanwhile, Eagles brass is scheduling talks with Bruce Arians, the people's choice…
The Philadelphia Eagles are expanding their search to find Andy Reid’s successor.
The team announced Friday that it has received permission to interview Indianapolis offensive coordinator Bruce Arians and Seattle defensive coordinator Gus Bradley.
The Colts and Seahawks are both playing in wild-card round playoff games this weekend, but the Eagles do not have to wait until their seasons end to interview them.
The Eagles already have talked with Atlanta special-teams coordinator Keith Armstrong and defensive coordinator Mike Nolan. Additionally, they are set to interview Denver offensive coordinator Mike McCoy on Sunday — the Broncos have a bye this weekend — and are among the teams interested in University of Oregon coach Chip Kelly.
Arians, 60, is in his first season with the Colts after five years as Pittsburgh’s offensive coordinator.
The former Temple University head coach — he led the Owls from 1983-88 — also went 9-3 as the Colts’ interim head coach this season while Chuck Pagano battled leukemia.
Arians also received a lot of credit for helping to develop rookie quarterback Andrew Luck, who is enjoying an outstanding season. Arians also was the Colts’ quarterbacks coach in 1998, when they drafted Peyton Manning.
Arians has been coaching for more than 30 years, including NFL jobs with Kansas City, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Cleveland and Pittsburgh before rejoining the Colts.
Bradley, 46, is in his fourth season as the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator. He was originally hired by Jim Mora and kept the job after Pete Carroll took over for the 2010 season.
Bradley presides over a Seahawks defense that allowed a league-low 15.3 points per game during the regular season and ranked fourth by allowing 306.2 yards per game. Cornerback Richard Sherman tied for second in the NFL during the regular season with eight interceptions. Former Eagles defensive end Chris Clemons led the team with 111/2 sacks.
Bradley spent the previous three seasons with Tampa Bay as the Buccaneers’ defensive quality control coach (2006) and linebackers coach (2007-08) under then-defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.
I'll add to this report as more updates come in. Until then, I will be content to read the comments of our Bored…and wallow in the wild-card rounds being played on Saturday, January 5…We've got Cincinnati at Houston in the early game and Minnesota at Green Bay in the 5:00 P.M. game…
MATCHUPS TO WATCH —
Bengals defensive line vs. Texans offensive line —
The key to disrupting Arian Foster and the Texans' zone running scheme is penetration, and the Bengals have proved capable of playing on the other side of the line of scrimmage. Led by two-time Pro Bowl DT Geno Atkins, Cincinnati has one of the best, most underrated defensive lines in football. Atkins led all interior linemen with 12.5 sacks. DE Michael Johnson had 11.5. Fellow DE Carlos Dunlap had four forced fumbles and three recoveries. Atkins ranked second and Domata Peko tied for 12th in run-stop percentage among all defensive and nose tackles, according to Pro Football Focus.
Packers run defense vs. Adrian Peterson —
Can Green Bay beat Minnesota if it allows Peterson to rush for more than 200 yards? His average in two games vs. Packers was 204.5. The Packers are a play-from-ahead, finesse defense, so their best bet might be to get a big lead and take the Vikings out of their run-first game plan. If not, Green Bay needs to do a better job of rallying to the ball en masse and setting the edge. It's going to take a complete team effort to slow down Peterson. No one really has done so over the past 10 weeks.
First-round playoff football in the NFL… nothing much better than this, except for maybe semi-finals playoff NHL hockey, which ain't happening this year…
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