Philadelphia Eagles to interview Pat Shurmur for head coach job

The Philadephia Eagles will be seeking an internal solution to their head coaching vacancy, by interviewing interim coach Pat Shurmur for a permanent position.

After gaining full control over football operations in Philadelphia at the onset of 2015, former head coach Chip Kelly didn’t even make it a full calendar year in charge of the Eagles. With a 6-9 record, Kelly was shown the door by owner Jeffrey Lurie. With their season essentially over and their roster influx, the Eagles will attempt to alleviate their coaching woes with an internal appointment. Yesterday interim coach Pat Shurmur led the Eagles to a 35-30 victory over Philly’s bitter divisional rivals the New York Giants. It seems that this victory has earned the placeholder coach a chance at a permanent position at the helm.

Tom Pelissero of USA Today has stated that Shurmur, who is undefeated as the Eagles head coach, will interview for the position today. The 50-year-old Shurmur, went 9-23 over two years as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns. However Shurmur does have a solid relationship with soon-to-be free agent quarterback Sam Bradford. In Bradford’s fantastic rookie year, Shurmur was there to guide the former Oklahoma Sooner to a 60.0 completion percentage, 3,512 yards and 18 touchdown passes, winning the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award in the process.(stats via NFL.com)

Speaking to ESPN, Bradford had this to say about the possible appointment of Shurmur:

"Given the history I have with Pat — we were together my rookie year [in St. Louis] and reunited this year — I think it would mean a lot to me. I would love to play for him. I really enjoyed playing for him today. If he is a candidate, I hope that he gets serious consideration.”"

ESPN’s Adam Shchefter has also reported that the Eagles will also be interviewing Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase on Tuesday.