Mission Impossible: How to Fix the Philadelphia Eagles in 2016

English writer John Heywood famously said “Rome was not built in a day” back in 1546. That quote remains relevant today and ironically enough, it’s quite fitting for the Philadelphia Eagles right now. After a heartbreaking loss to the Washington Redskins last night, the Eagles are officially eliminated from playoff contention. So now it’s time for the coaches, players and everyone else at the NovaCare Complex to take a long, hard look at themselves in the mirror.

While some fans are calling for Eagles head coach Chip Kelly to be fired, others simply want his “general manager” duties revoked. Yet it’s fair to wonder if Kelly just needs more time to grow and learn from his mistakes, such as signing cornerback Byron Maxwell and running back DeMarco Murray to huge contracts. As I previously mentioned, Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was an NFL team.

There’s no doubting Kelly made a few awful decisions in free agency but he also found two potential defensive cornerstones on day two of the 2015 NFL Draft in cornerback Eric Rowe and inside linebacker Jordan Hicks. Those two draft picks at least shine some light on Kelly’s first offseason as the Eagles’ pseudo general manager. But with a 6-9 record and Super Bowl aspirations heading into the regular season, something has to change for the Eagles this offseason, right?

Absolutely, but where do they begin? It will all start with a meeting between team owner Jeffrey Lurie and Kelly at the end of the regular season. They’ll likely discuss the direction of the coaching staff and roster moving forward, maybe Lurie will even demand some changes. Although it may seem like turning this team around would make for a new addition to the “Mission Impossible” series, I’m going to give it my best shot!

How-To Fix the Coaching Staff

Keep Chip Kelly the head coach…not the general manager, hire Sheldon White

Maybe balancing life as a head coach and a general manager in the NFL was just too much for Chip Kelly this season. I honestly believe that Kelly and team owner Jeffrey Lurie will come to a mutual agreement to hand the “GM” duties off to someone else, not named Howie Roseman, of course. This past offseason, the Eagles flirted with current Detroit Lions interim general manager Sheldon White in talks regarding their open general manager position at the time. Maybe the two sides could re-open talks if the Lions decide to let White walk and start over this offseason.

Fire Bill Davis, promote Jerry Azzinaro

Defensive coordinator Bill Davis has failed to elevate the Eagles’ defense with his play-calling in any of his first three seasons with the team. Despite having quite a bit of talent, the Eagles failed to showcase it on the field and many have questioned Davis’ abilities in the past. Time and time again, it appears as though Davis is stuck to his stubborn ways and won’t adjust unless he’s forced to due to injuries, etc. Just look at the cornerback situation in 2014 as a prime example, Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher remained the starters basically all season long while Nolan Carroll and Jaylen Watkins were wasting away on the bench.

That brings us to defensive line coach Jerry Azzinaro or “Azz” as many players refer to him. Since his arrival in Philadelphia, the Eagles’ defensive line has only improved. Azzinaro has turned defensive end Fletcher Cox into one of the best defensive linemen in the NFL. He has also turned Vinny Curry, a traditional 4-3 defensive end coming out of college, into one of the league’s best pass rushing 3-4 defensive ends. That says a lot about Azzinaro’s ability to “coach up” players and put them in a position to succeed and grow each and every day, something Davis has yet to prove he can do. It’s also clear that Kelly already trust Azzinaro, since he’s the team’s assistant head coach as well.

Fire Bob Bicknell, hire Jim Hostler

Another familiar face for the Eagles should be let go this offseason, that is wide receivers coach Bob Bicknell. The Eagles have invested a first round pick, second round pick and third round pick in wide receivers over the past two drafts and don’t have much to show for it. Sure, Jordan Matthews has turned into a great slot wide receiver but even he has struggled at times. Nelson Agholor and Josh Huff have combined for a whopping 56 receptions for 670 yards and four touchdowns in 38 career games combined. That isn’t the type of production you want to see from two high draft picks early on in their respective careers.

That brings us to Jim Hostler, currently the wide receivers coach for the Indianapolis Colts. Considering head coach Chuck Pagano’s days in Indy may be numbered, Hostler could be available for the Eagles to hire as Bicknell’s replacement. Despite franchise quarterback Andrew Luck struggling and missing much of the season due to injuries, Colts’ wide receivers have combined for just 12 drops this season, one of the lowest marks in the NFL. While Jordan Matthews, Nelson Agholor and Josh Huff have combined for 13 drops this season. Hostler also has big game experience as he was the Baltimore Ravens wide receiver coach when they won Super Bowl XLVII. It’s also worth noting that he’s a Pennsylvania native, that always helps in my imagination.

How-To Fix the Current Roster

According to OverTheCap.com, the Eagles are set to have roughly $16.5 million in cap space this offseason. That’s obviously not a whole lot of money, especially with 12 pending free agents, one of which is the team’s starting quarterback Sam Bradford. So how can the team trim the excess fat off the roster to free up some more cap space? It’s actually quite simple.

Cut Jason Peters, Brent Celek, DeMeco Ryans, Darren Sproles and Riley Cooper

By cutting the five players above, the Eagles would more than double their projected cap room, raising it to roghly $38 million. It would be tough to say goodbye to Jason Peters but he’s battled injuries all season long and is certainly on the decline, cutting him would save the Eagles $6.3 million. Zach Ertz has clearly leapfrogged Brent Celek at tight end and looks like an emerging star. Cutting Celek would save the Eagles $5 million. Despite being a leader in the locker room, DeMeco Ryans just isn’t worth keeping around with Jordan Hicks, Mychal Kendricks and Kiko Alonso in town. Cutting Ryans would save the Eagles an additional $3.5 million.

It’s going to be tough for the Eagles to get rid of DeMarco Murray’s contract in a trade and he likely won’t restructure his deal so that likely leaves Darren Sproles as the odd man out. Kenjon Barner or a day three rookie could likely step in and fill Sproles’ shoes for a fraction of the cost, saving the Eagles $3.5 million. Fans have been clamoring for the Eagles to release Riley Cooper since last season but this offseason they can do so without losing money, in fact, cutting Cooper would save the team $2.9 million.

Re-sign Sam Bradford, Walter Thurmond, Cedric Thornton and E.J. Biggers

That’s right, the Eagles should let players such as Nolan Carroll and Vinny Curry walk in free agency this offseason. It may sound crazy but the play of Carroll’s replacements this season made him expendable and it will be too costly for the Eagles to get in a bidding war for Curry’s services. Re-signing Sam Bradford should be priority number one for the Eagles and it’ll likely be their biggest cap hit of the offseason. Bradford’s agent, Tom Condon, is known for getting quarterbacks big paydays in the past such as Eli Manning, Drew Brees and Matt Ryan.

But no client of Condon’s stands out more to me than Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford. Back in 2013, Stafford agreed to a three-year, $53 million contract extension to add to the two years that were already remaining on his contract. Now that’s clearly a different situation than Bradford’s in Philadelphia but a similar deal could make sense for both sides. Such a deal would leave the Eagles with roughly $19 million in cap space, that’s quite a hit but also the going rate for a quarterback.

Then it’s time for the Eagles to re-sign some more of “their own” and that would be Walter Thurmond, Cedric Thornton and E.J. Biggers. Thurmond could likely be had for a contract similar to the one the Kansas City Chiefs signed 28-year old Ron Parker to last offseason, five-year deal worth $25 million with a $5 million signing bonus. Thornton will likely sign a contract similar to the one Washington Redskins defensive end Chris Baker signed in 2014, three-year deal worth $9 million with a $3 million signing bonus. Biggers should be able to be re-signed for a deal similar to what Rashean Mathis received from the Detroit Lions last offseason, a two-year deal worth $3.5 million.

Here’s exactly how those extensions would breakdown, according to OverTheCap.com’s salary cap calculator:

Free Agency

Now that the Eagles have “taken care of their own,” it’s time to bring in some outsiders to fill the roster’s remaining holes prior to the 2016 NFL Draft. After all of the previous moves mentioned in this post, the Eagles would head into free agency with roughly $13.7 million in cap space. Based on their performance during the 2015 season, you can make the argument that addressing the offensive line and wide receiver positions should be Philadelphia’s top priorities in free agency and the draft. So what should the Eagles actually do in free agency?

Sign Alex Boone and Brandon Brooks

The Eagles need to get back to the roots of what made Chip Kelly’s offense successful and that starts with running the football. Therefore it only makes sense to sign two of the best young guards on the free agent market. Alex Boone and Brandon Brooks are both athletic freaks that would fit in perfectly in Kelly’s zone blocking scheme. At 28 years old, Boone will likely sign a contract similar to the one his former teammate, Mike Iuapati, signed with the Arizona Cardinals last offseason (five-year deal worth $40 million). Brooks is 26 years old and may very well sign a deal similar to the one 26 year old guard Clint Boling signed with the Cincinatti Bengals last offseason (five-year deal worth $26 million).

Signing these two freaks of nature to those comparable contracts would leave the Eagles with roughly $2 million in cap room. That leaves the Eagles with little to no room to work with to add any wide receivers. But luckily for them, they will likely roll over some salary cap room to increase their spending limit. There’s also a chance that the salary cap exceeds expectations and rises even more. Now we have just one final step in our mission to fixing the Eagles, that is the 2016 NFL Draft…

P.S. – Here’s a look at the Eagles updated projected starters following free agency!

2016 NFL Draft

Despite curing some of their needs in free agency, the Eagles would still have quite a few holes to address in this scenario. Especially at right tackle and wide receiver, which will likely be addressed early in this years draft. Luckily for the Eagles, this draft class is full of talent along the offensive line which should allow a solid prospect to fall in their laps no matter where they elect to draft an offensive linemen. There are also a few potentially special wide receivers in this year’s draft class as well.

Here’s my 2016 NFL Draft class for the Eagles, using Fanspeak.com’s “On the Clock Mock Draft Simulator:”

There you have it, my draft class that will fix all of the Eagles’ problems…except not really at all. If the Eagles can somehow manage to draft Ole Miss wide receiver Laquon Treadwell, that would be a huge boost for them at wide receiver. Treadwell has star written all over him and certainly has the tools to be a Pro Bowl caliber player. Drafting Duke safety Jeremy Cash just made sense since Malcolm Jenkins is heading into the final year of his contract in 2016 and the Eagles used three safeties quite a bit this season as well. North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz is on the rise but would make a ton of sense for the Eagles as a developmental option behind Sam Bradford if they sign him to a short term extension.

It’s clear that the Marcus Smith project isn’t going according to plan so taking a chance on a high upside outside linebacker such as Kamalei Correa from Boise State seems fitting. Miami wide receiver Stacy Coley is a burner and would bring some much needed speed to a rather non-explosive group of pass catchers in Philadelphia. Washington State offensive tackle Joe Dahl is one of the nation’s best pass blockers and that was certainly a weak point for the Eagles down the stretch in 2015. Maybe Dahl would even push for the starting job at right tackle, anything is possible.

Iowa State defensive end Drew Ott battled a few injuries this season but has that ever scared Chip Kelly before? Clearly not. Ott certainly knows how to rush the passer and as a late round flyer, the Eagles can’t go wrong with a player that could potentially fill the pass rushing void left by Vinny Curry’s departure. In the seventh round, there will be a few developmental or practice squad quarterbacks that the Eagles could target. Trevone Boykin is my favorite of the bunch and may be able to add some fun wrinkles to Kelly’s offense down the road. By releasing Darren Sproles, the Eagles will need to bring in another running back and West Virginia’s Rushel Shell has a thick build but also has some quick feet and return ability to go with it as well.

That’s all for the 2016 NFL Draft folks, what did you think of my mock draft class for the Eagles? How about all of the changes that I made to the front office, coaching staff and current roster? Please let me know what you think in the comment section below or tweet your thoughts to me at @Anthony_DiBona. As always, thanks for reading and be sure to check back here at PhillyInfluencer.com for all of the latest stories in the City of Brotherly Love!