Eagles players reportedly texting Jeffrey Lurie to make this head coaching hire

Eagles players have made it known who they want as head coach.

The Philadelphia Eagles canned Doug Pederson after a disappointing 4-11-1 season in 2020, but their late start on the head coaching search has left New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, fresh off a poor 2020 season, as the favorite to take the job. If owner Jeffery Lurie is wise, however, he’d listen to his players, as they have already decided on who they want as their coach.

WIP is reporting that Eagles players have been advocating for assistant head coach Duce Staley to get promoted to head coach, urging Lurie to choose him over McDaniels.

Duce Staley had earned plenty of respect in the Eagles locker room

Staley, who spent three of his 10 seasons as an NFL running back with the Eagles, has been on the coaching staff for the last half-decade, serving as the running backs coach on the Super Bowl-winning team before also getting the assistant head coach label slapped on him.

Staley is in an unusual position with the Eagles. While players like Miles Sanders have spoken about how great of a leader and motivator he is, Staley was not promoted to offensive coordinator last offseason despite the vacancy, a sign that either Pederson or the organization didn’t put that much stock into him as a coach. However, McDaniels was horrid last season, and Staley’s coaching stock should be much higher than the sliding McDaniels, who failed once as a head coach in Denver.

While the consulting firms and box score scouts might say McDaniels is a good hire, Staley has shown that even amid losing and chaos, he can command the locker room. That fact could help the Eagles compete for a playoff spot, while the McDaniels hire could signal the start of a rebuild given the salary cap situation.