Remember when Ha Ha Clinton-Dix really wanted to be an Eagle?
Remembering the Philadelphia Eagles’ draftee that never was.
On Sunday, September 5th, the Dallas Cowboys made the rather surprising decision to release presumed starting free safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.
Now, in a lot of ways, this move could be viewed as something, nothing, or everything. Maybe the Cowboys preferred to go with third-year Boise State product Darian Thompson over the sixth-year starter? Or maybe Clinton-Dix just wasn’t all that good in camp and the team opted to save $1.5 million over retaining his services. Heck, in theory, this could be a sign the ‘Boys want to go all-in on 2020 and finally sign troubled free agent Earl Thomas.
Honestly, beats me. What I do know, however, is that once upon a time, Clinton-Dix was almost a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, and may still be in this weird, alternative universe if it wasn’t for those pesky Green Bay Packers.
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It all started in January of 2013, when Jeffery Lurie took a walk on the wild side and hired then-Oregon Ducks head coach Chip Kelly. While oh so much has been written about Kelly’s tumultuous tenure with the team, an under-the-radar move made by the club was the addition of ex-Alabama Director of Player Personnel Ed Marynowitz, who was hired to fill in as an assistant director of pro scouting in 2012.
Why does this matter? Well as it turns out, Marynowitz was actually Clinton-Dix’s primary contact at Alabama during his high school recruitment and made a strong impact on the former four-star recruit.
So naturally, when Clinton-Dix completed a fantastic three-year career at Alabama that launched him into the first-round conversation, the 6-foot-2 combo safety viewed South Philly as a natural landing spot, and politicked heavily to go off the board at 21st overall.
And frankly, a marriage between the two parties made sense.
Even after adding then-underknown safety Malcolm Jenkins in free agency, the Eagles still have a sizeable long-term hole to fill at free safety, with Nate Allen locked into what would ultimately be his final season in midnight green. At worst, Clinton-Dix could fill the role of a range-y deep center fielder with ease opposite Jenkins’ box freestyle-ability and at best, the Eagles would have had a pair of interchangeable coverage pieces capable of blanketing the back end of the defense, riding down into the box, or even matching up on tight ends or receivers in the slot.
Hey, in hindsight, anything would have been better than what the Birds got out of their actual first-round pick, Marcus Smith.
While one could argue ad nauseam over whether or not the Eagles actually would have selected Clinton-Dix with the 21st overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, we ultimately will never know, as the Packers traded up from their spot 21st overall to steal the Alabama safety from a team they presumed wanted him.
Fun fact: The same thing happened with Brandin Cooks and the New Orleans Saints at 20. It’s like the Eagles couldn’t catch a break that year.
And the rest, my friends, is history. Clinton-Dix had an alright career with the Packers before being replaced in free agency by Penn State’s Adrian Amos, kicking off a journeyman run of sorts that sent the Orlando native to Washington, Chicago, and eventually Dallas before his ultimate waiving.
Next. Why not swap out Rudy Ford for Dare Ogunbowale?. dark
Who knows, maybe there is a world where the Philadelphia Eagles and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix actually do join forces. He’s certainly a better player than Marcus Epps and would immediately give Rodney McLeod the best competition he’s had in South Philly – a deceptively big need considering the 29-year-old isn’t guaranteed to return in 2021. But by trading up for his services, the Green Bay Packers pushed Philly down a two season-long rabbit hole to find a secondary mate for Malcolm Jenkins, and gave Philly fans three-ish years of Marcus Smith. Yikes.