There is some development happening on the offensive coordinator front for the Philadelphia Eagles. Today a report mentioned that the team is showing interest in making Baltimore Ravens quarterbacks coach James Urban their next offensive coordinator.
In the past two seasons, Urban has had experience coaching the Ravens standout Lamar Jackson, and also has experience coaching other NFL standouts such as Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick, A.J. Green, and Joe Flacco.
Urban has strong ties to the state of Pennsylvania, from being a graduate assistant at Clarion for two seasons. He also has ties to the city of Philadelphia, as he was the director of football administration at the University of Pennsylvania.
The now 46-year-old remained in Philadelphia for the next ten years as he was promoted to director of all football operations at Penn. In 2004, Urban joined Andy Reid's staff for the Eagles as an assistant to the head coach for two seasons. For the 2007-2008 seasons, Urban served as both offensive assistant and quality control coach, and the next season he was promoted to quarterbacks coach for the 2009-2010 seasons.
After the 2010 season, the Bengals head coach at the time, Marvin Lewis, hired Urban to serve as the Bengals wide receivers coach from 2011-2017. After his time with the Bengals, Urban moved on to the Baltimore Ravens to serve as the quarterbacks coach and to help reconnect with former Eagles special teams coordinator John Harbaugh to mentor both Lamar Jackson and Joe Flacco.
Urban was a part of Bengals teams that made multiple playoff appearances, and also was a part of some playoff runs under Andy Reid and John Harbaugh. It's time that he adds a playoff run under Doug Pederson to his resume.
If Doug Pederson and Howie Roseman can pull off this hire, I will feel the same way I mentioned I would feel if they hired Mike Kafka -- satisfied. Due to the Andy Reid, Doug Pederson, and Philadelphia connection, I would consider it a home run hire. Knowing the Philadelphia atmosphere and knowing how hard it is to please Eagles fans gives Urban an advantage over other potential candidates. His prior experiences on the sidelines at Lincoln Financial Field would help out Urban in the long run, and with Lamar Jackson turning into a MVP-caliber quarterback, maybe he will help Carson Wentz and the rest of the offense become offensive juggernauts once again.
댓글