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There’s also a school of thought that “generational talent” at the skill positions like Kyle Pitts and Ja’Marr Chase wouldn’t be there at No. 6 if Atlanta and Cincinnati take those avenues, the latter reuniting the famed LSU connection of Joe Burrow to Chase.
And then there’s the Occam’s Razor tea leaf the simplest answer is usually the correct one.
Last week in this space we explained to you that the DNA of Jeffrey Lurie’s Eagles traces back to 1999 and the arrival of Andy Reid.
In Reid’s head-coaching interview with Lurie and then-team president Joe Banner, the future Hall of Fame coach explained his football philosophy in cheat-sheet form: the need for two offensive tackles, a quarterback, two pass rushers, and two corners. From there, “Big Red” would figure the rest out.
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This isn’t anything negative about Jalen Hurts – rather quite the contrary, nor is it anything that blindly props up Wentz, demanding he come back after learning his lesson. This was never about demands, but instead about seeing what you have. Right? “Let’s see what we have in Hurts” was one. And my other favorite was, “Let’s see how Wentz bounces back from the benching.”
I’ve seen enough of Jalen Hurts to know he has the DNA to be an NFL quarterback. That doesn’t mean he’s going to Canton, but benching Wentz was also about seeing what the team has in Hurts. It’s clear the kid has the heart, mind, and at least the legs to lead, the same exact quality that was lacking with Wentz.
That leaves Doug Pederson even though the Super Bowl-winning coach should be the least likely fall guy if merit alone was Lurie s measuring stick.
Pederson, however, could simply lose this thing by default in the eyes of an owner who seems to regard change for change s sake as a synonym for evolution after what he regards as disappointing seasons, at least since Super Bowl LII.
Some have even speculated that Pederson sees that landscape as well and wouldn t mind moving on from the micromanagement of his bosses because the conventional wisdom is that the veteran mentor would be unemployed for about 15 seconds while any new destination would come with the silver lining of more autonomy as well.