Saturday, January 5, 2013

Eagles search for a coach should end now

Bruce Arians would be a great choice in three important areas.



The only known photo of
Bruce Arians as Temple
coach on the internet.
Driving around Philadelphia every day, I have my radio presets on a few select stations.
Two are the all-sports talk stations in Philly, but I invariably land on WFAN in New York for the best sports talk.
Mostly, I end up on 100.3 or 105.3, music stations. Big fan of Patti Jackson, Lady B and Michael Baisden.
Still, in between commercials, it's amusing to stop on the Philly sports talk stations for awhile to hear them talk about potential replacements for Andy Reid.
I have to shake my head, though. All of these guys are garbage compared to my choice.
There's really only one potential replacement and he should be hired no later than Monday. (If the Colts lose to Bernard Pierce and the Ravens, which I suspect will happen on Sunday.)
His name is Bruce Arians, the former Temple University head coach.
OK, I will admit that I'm biased but some other national guys like ESPN's Dan Graziano (see above) who are starting to come around to my way of thinking.
I don't think his age, 60, should have anything to do with it. Sixty is the new 40 anyway. Tom Coughlin won two Super Bowls after 60. Period, end of discussion.
On the Daz front, we're at Dream Job No. 6.

Put aside the Temple connection for a moment and look at it logically.
Culture Change
Bruce Arians took a 2-14 team in Indianapolis and totally changed the culture from losing to winning. He was 9-3 in the 12 games he was head coach, including a win over the Green Bay Packers. That performance has made him the leading candidate for NFL Coach of the Year.
Think there's a pro team in Philadelphia that needs a culture change?
Check.
Developing young quarterbacks?
Admittedly, he did it this year with a good rookie quarterback in Andrew Luck but I think, say, Syracuse's Ryan Nassib has a similar skill set to Luck's and he could do the same with another rookie in Philadelphia.
Also, Arians developed both Peyton Manning at Indy and Big Ben with the Steelers as quarterbacks and, if you don't draft Nassib, he could at least work his magic with Nick Foles.
Check.
Public Relations
This is an important hire for Eagles' owner Jeff Lurie. Does he go the totally unknown route and hire a coordinator like Mike McCoy or hire a two-time Super Bowl winning coordinator AND a guy who is coming off a NFL Coach of the Year Award. When was the last time an NFL team hired an NFL COY from another team? This could be a first and an incredibly easy sell to an otherwise skeptical fan base.
Check.
It's about a big a no-brainer as there is. We shall soon find out if Lurie has at least half a one.