Demystifying the Eagles’ defensive coordinator job…

The search for Chip Kelly's defensive coordinator is in high gear. The past few seasons the Eagles might as well have hired "? and the Mysterians" for the job…you remember their big hit "96 Tears" ?

ESPN and Howard Eskin are reporting that Georgia Bulldogs defensive coordinator Todd Grantham remains a strong candidate. However, he's not the only coach the team is talking to. Seth Emerson of the Macon Telegraph says that the Eagles are also interested in Alabama Crimson Tide DC Kirby Smart. Further, they had been interested in Florida's DC, but Dan Quinn accepted the same job with the Seattle Seahawks.

"Clearly, with reported interest in coordinators at Alabama, Georgia and Florida, the Eagles are determined to win the SEC next season," Emerson writes.

We've seen less-than-glowing reviews here about Grantham's body of work from Bored posters in the know, such as GK Brizer, Mike BirdCrazy, and the Great JB-Sage-Lion.

Grantham is no stranger to the NFL. He came to Georgia in 2010 after 11 seasons at the NFL, including three seasons as the defensive coordinator for Cleveland.

The thinking around the program, according to a source, is that Grantham would likely take the Eagles job if he were offered: after all, it's seen as a promotion in the coaching business, and the Eagles would likely be able to offer more than the $825,000 that he's being paid at Georgia. (Grantham's current contract runs through the end of the 2014 season.)

Grantham also received a total of $125,000 in bonuses this season: His contract calls for a $75,000 bonus for appearing in the Capital One Bowl, and $50,000 for winning the SEC East.

Grantham has said that his goal is to be a head coach. His stock was fairly high after the 2011 season, when Georgia finished fifth nationally in total defense. This year the Bulldogs took a dip, ranking in the middle of the pack in the SEC, despite a load of NFL talent.

Chip Kelly is considering switching the Eagles to a 3-4 defensive alignment – the same system that Grantham runs for Georgia. But it's really not a cut-and-dry issue. The reality of such a switch would be clouded in personnel evaluations and coordinating the back end (safeties and corners) with new zone looks. The probability of ending up with a hybrid variation of the old 4-3 is very much in play.

Here's a few smarticles from the Great-JB-Sage-Lion to help our fans appreciate the complexity of the defensive challenge for the New Eagles:

"I have no doubt that Chip Kelly will have a decent NFL offense. But I kinda doubt we'll have a good D. After all… he's never really had one. Especially if he's going after that Georgia DC (Grantham). That guy has all the NFL talent you could hope for… and has done nothing but underachieve."

"[Regarding switching to a 3-4]…Really, it's so twirled up these days… that it really doesnt matter whether it's 4-3 or 3-4. Thats what bunches of people don't understand. JJ always played a 4-3 but really it was a 3-4. And Bellichick always played a 3-4… but really it was a 4-3…And a lot of it depends on [what you do with] your safeties. Some play it one way with their S's… and others play it another… regardless of base set up. The Ravens and Chargers have been playing their SS like a glorified LB… but so does Mike Zimmer in Cincy in his 4-3."

"I dunno about Georgia's "big" 3-4 D under Grantham. They are one of the smallest 3-4 ever. LB's are always particularly small. Kinda like Reid's."

" I really don't care… as long as we aren't predominately man coverage. We need lots more Zone than what we have been running."

I couldn't resist asking the Sage-Lion a question about Chip Kelly's offense: what makes it tick?

"Here's a football 101 lesson…Chip runs Spread Zone Read… It's option football. All option football schemes have certain plays that need to work for the O to function correctly. For the Spread Zone Read those two plays are: (1)the dive, and ( 2) speed sweep….But everything runs off that dive in Chip's scheme."

" I don't care for his 'hurry up' but I love the option and always thought it would work in the NFL…"

Interestingly, Kelly said at his press conference Thursday he wasn't committed to a 3-4 or 4-3 system yet, and it would depend on the personnel and who was hired as defensive coordinator.