Philadelphia Eagles: OC Frank Reich is a great hire

With the news that the Philadelphia Eagles will be hiring Doug Pederson as their new head coach, Pederson has found his offensive coordinator, Frank Reich.

Ian Rapport of NFL Network is reporting that the Philadelphia Eagles will be hiring former San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator Frank Reich to run their offense in 2016.

The 2015 Eagles offense was not horrible, but it certainly was not great.

Their team offense statistics can fool anyone unless you look deeper into what they really mean.

Yes, the Eagles scored the 13th most points in the NFL and their 5,830 yards had them sitting at 12th in the NFL. Yes, they were 12th in passing yards with the 6th most attempts on the year as well as 14th most rushing yards.

How could an offensive that ranks in the top 15 of those categories not be a really good offense? You can blame Chip Kelly’s scheme for that because those numbers are great, but the numbers that matter more than yards and total offense are where Kelly and his former team failed in 2015.

The Eagles did not score the amount of touchdowns that they should have with the volume of at which their offense moved. The Eagles sat at 27th in the NFL with 29.1% of their drives resulting in an offensive score. They also were dead last in time of possession in 2015, which hurts your defense along with your rhythm on offense.

Oct 25, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) and offensive coordinator Frank Reich talk during a stoppage in play during the second half of the game against the Oakland Raiders at Qualcomm Stadium. Oakland won 37-29. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports /

They averaged 5.57 plays per drive, which put them at 20th in the NFL and they also only averaged 28.4 net yard per drive, putting them at 24th in the NFL. They also sat at 23rd in the NFL for average points per drive

The Birds offense also had 31 turnovers this season putting them at 29th in the NFL, while their defense sat at 10th in the NFL creating 26 turnovers.

So, yes, they had a lot of yards and looked to be a good offense this season, but certain numbers that matter more than yards were not there for the Eagles.

This is why the Eagles made the right move going after Reich.

He was clearly the scapegoat in San Diego this season, which means the Eagles could strike gold with their new offensive coordinator.

In 2015, Reich dealt with injury after injury on his offense and the Chargers first round pick, running back Melvin Gordon, did not live up to his first round status and was injured for part of the year.

However, Reich was creative in his attack and allowed the Chargers to be one of the better offenses in the NFL.

The Chargers had a hard time getting into the end zone this past season, but their offensive coordinator was not the problem. He designed an attack that allowed the Chargers to sit at ninth in the NFL with 5,949 total yards. The Eagles passing offense was not what it could have been, but the Chargers were one of the best.

They ended the year with 4,591 yards, which had them at fourth in the NFL, while their 30 touchdown passes had them at 13th.

Like stated before, the Chargers running back struggled this past season and that reflected their rushing statistics. They ended the year as the 31st ranked team for rushing yards and dead last for rushing touchdowns. However, that does not mean Reich does not know how to use his running backs and this is where Eagles fans should get excited.

Chargers’ third down running back, Danny Woodhead, had his best season of his career in Reich’s offense. He caught 80 passes for 755 yards and six touchdowns. He also added 336 yards on the ground with three touchdowns. Why are these numbers important? Woodhead was looked at as the player that was supposed to replace former Chargers running back Darren Sproles, who is now the Eagles starting third down running back.

This means that in 2016, Sproles will now be the Woodhead of the Eagles offense that Reich brings into Philadelphia. Look for Sproles to have a big year in 2016.

More from NFL Spin Zone

Reich uses his pass catching back well and his offense also was one of the best teams at sustaining drives all year. The Chargers averaged 2:52 per drive, putting them at fourth in the NFL, they averaged 6.36 plays per drive, which put them at number one in the NFL, and they averaged 33.4 net yards per drive, which put them at sixth in the NFL. They only averaged 1.78 points per drive, putting them at 21st in the NFL, but that was better than the 2015 Eagles.

Reich played high school football at Cedar Crest High School in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, so he has PA ties, and he also played in the famous Big 33 Football Classic in high school. He continued his playing career at the University of Maryland before he was drafted in the third round of the 1985 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills. He played quarterback in the NFL from 1985 until 1998.

He made his NFL coaching debut in 2008 as an offensive coaching staff assistant for the Indianapolis Colts, and then coached their quarterbacks from 2009-2010, before switching to wide receivers in 2011. In 2012, Reich coached the Arizona Cardinals wide receivers before leaving in 2013 for the Chargers to coach the quarterbacks. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2014 and stayed in the position for 2015 before he was fired at the end of the season.

More nfl spin zone: Post Chip Kelly Era Mock Draft

Now that the Birds have Pederson and Reich together, their first move will be what they will do at quarterback for the 2016 NFL season. Sam Bradford is going to be a free agent and the Eagles are picking 13th in the 2016 NFL Draft.

Time will tell what they do at quarterback, but for the moment; Reich is a great hire by the Eagles.

Home/Philadelphia Eagles