Philadelphia Eagles: The case for and against Lincoln Riley

The case against Lincoln Riley to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Do you remember Chip Kelly?

Do you remember how he was supposed to revolutionize the Philadelphia Eagles with his high-flying, college spread offense and take the league by storm, only for him to crash and burn like no other head coach we’ve seen last decade?

Do you really want to go through that again?

Make no mistake about it, Riley is the same kind of coach. He’s consistently put up flashy numbers in a lesser Power-5 Conference, all the while getting trounced any time his team was given a chance to prove their mettle against a team like Alabama.

Sure, the Sooners averaged 43 points per game in 2020, but they also gave up an average of 21.7 points – including 38 against Kansas State, 37 against Iowa State, and 45 against Texas. Honestly, Oklahoma was lucky their only SEC opponent of the season was a shorthanded Florida team; otherwise, they might have been blown out spectacularly like they were by LSU in the 2019 Peach Bowl.

In that regard, Riley is kind of a loser. He lost the Rose Bowl in 2017, he lost the Orange Bowl in 2018, and he lost the Peach Bowl in 2019. Heck, Oklahoma even lost the Orange Bowl in 2015 in Riley’s first year as an offensive coordinator. While his scheme is built to win in the Big 12, it consistently gets bested by bigger, better foes from the SEC.

How many Big 12 defensive players make it to the NFL each year? I’ll give you a hint; it’s a whole lot less than the number from the SEC.

Could Riley come in, taking over a team that’s old, bad, and $60-plus million over the cap, and transform the Eagles into a Year 1 playoff performer? Sure, there’s a long and storied history of NFL teams finding immediate success with a new and exciting offensive scheme. With that being said, once the NFL figures said scheme out – sometimes midway through that first season – it’s up to the plucky young head coach to counter-punch and make the necessary moves to stay ahead of the curve.

Kelly never figured out how to adjust and that – mixed with his defense-hemorrhaging, mind-numbingly simple offensive scheme and inability to connect with players – is largely why he’s currently coaching at UCLA instead of in the NFL right now.

Factor in Riley’s relationship with Howie Roseman that drove the team away from drafting future Pro Bowler Orlando Brown, towards drafting Jalen Reagor, and picking Jalen Hurts a bit higher than pretty much any other team in the NFL would have, and you have to wonder if hiring the 37-year-old would just perpetuate the current power structure that has left the Eagles looking for their fourth head coach in a decade – fifth if you count Pat Shurmur, who couched a single game after Kelly was fired in the lead up to Week 17 of the 2015 NFL season.

If the Philadelphia Eagles are serious about establishing a dynasty a la their Super Bowl LII opponent Bill Belichick, the need to bet on substance and a proven leader of men with a proven track record of success, not a flashy ‘boy wonder’ who will surely take the league by storm with his flashy offense only to crumble when there’s no steak behind the sizzle. Let another team take a chance on a head coach like Lincoln Riley. Sure, he may become the next Sean McVay and make us all look foolish, but he could just as easily become the next Adam Gase or *gasp* Chip Kelly.

~ Fin

So what do you think? Is Lincoln Riley an offensive genius who, when surround by veteran assistants and an improved roster – can make the Philadelphia Eagles the New England Patriots of the NFC, or just another college coach who ran up the score against lesser opponents and will be headed back from whence he came before he hits a half-decade of NFL service? Your guess is as good as mine.