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Frustrated Philadelphia Eagles fans calling, return as offensive coordinator
The Philadephia Eagles have lost three consecutive games, and their fans are becoming more and more vocal on social media about changes they’d like to see happen, especially on offense.
Specifically, they want Frank Reich back as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator.
The Eagles have already made a change on defense, taking the play-calling duties away from defensive coordinator Sean Desai and giving them to Matt Patricia.
Now there’s clamoring for the same sort of change on offense, given the Eagles’ struggles to score points during their current skid. And they believe Frank Reich would be the answer, since he was the offensive coordinator when the Eagles won Super Bowl LII with Nick Foles at quarterback.
Brian Johnson is in his first season as Eagles offensive coordinator. He was the quarterbacks coach under the previous offensive coordinator, Shane Steichen, before Steichen left to become head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.
To start the season, the Eagles rolled to a 10-1 record while scoring an average of 28.1 points per game. But since then, the Eagles’ scoring has dipped to 16.3 points per game during their current skid.
As for Frank Reich, who was fired after 11 games this season as head coach of the Carolina Panthers, he was the Eagles’ offensive coordinator for two seasons, 2016 and 2017.
In Frank Reich’s first season as offensive coordinator, the Eagles went 7-9 and ranked 20th in total offense with rookie quarterback Carson Wentz. The following season, the offense ranked only 29th overall, despite the fact the team was winning and Wentz was putting together an MVP-caliber season.
Wentz eventually tore his ACL in Week 13 and was gone for the rest of the season. Nevertheless, Foles stepped in as the Eagles finished 13-3 and ended up winning their first Super Bowl in franchise history.
Despite the team not measuring up statistically under Frank Reich, the fact he directed the offense during a Super Bowl-winning season is what matters most to Eagles fans.
Frank Reich left Philadelphia to become the head coach in Indianapolis, where he directed the Colts to two playoff berths in four-plus seasons before getting fired after nine games in 2022. While there, Frank Reich worked with Andrew Luck, Jacoby Brissett, Philip Rivers and Matt Ryan.
How would Frank Reich do with Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts? Hurts was having an MVP-caliber season before the Eagles’ recent struggles, which doesn’t make much sense considering their overall talent on offense, from their offensive line to their playmakers. In his postgame press conference after losing to Seattle on Monday night, Hurts challenged his team’s “commitment.”
Frank Reich, a former NFL quarterback himself, has a strong track record with quarterbacks from his previous coaching stops and, if he were brought back, could possibly maximum Hurts’ potential.
Brian Johnson and the Eagles, however, could remedy their offensive woes over the next three games — two against the New York Giants and one against the Arizona Cardinals. Until that happens, Eagles fans will continue to ponder a return to the glory days, when Frank Reich was leading a Super Bowl-winning offense.
