The Eagles finalized their coaching staff today with a flurry of hirings and promotions. I only had a chance to mention it quickly earlier, so I just wanted to go over who all these guys are and how they got where they are. First, the new guys.
Johnnie Lynn, Secondary/cornerbacks coach - Spent the last 5 seasons as a secondary coach for the 49ers, prior to that he was the secondary coach for the Ravens, he also spent 6 years with the Giants, two of which were as defensive coordinator. He's also coached secondaries in Tampa Bay, an earlier stint with San Fran, and at the University of Arizona. He played seven seasons for the New York Jets. He'll work alongside Mike Zordich coaching the secondary.
Bobby April Jr, Defensive quality control coach - His name should give away the main reason he got the job... He's the son of current Eagles special teams coordinator Bobby April. That said, Jr seems perfectly qualified for the quality control job, which is certainly the most thankless of all coaching jobs. These guys really do the grunt work for the decision makers. They are there to learn. Jr has spent the last 5 years coaching in the college ranks as a special teams coordinator, safeties coach and linebackers coach.
Now, the guys that got promotions
David Culley, senior offensive assistant/wide receivers - Culley has been the Eagles WR coach since Andy Reid got there. I'm not exactly sure what if any new responsibilities come with the "senior offensive assistant" title that's been added to his name. He's already been involved in crafting gameplans for years. Back when the Eagles WRs were really bad, Culley got a lot of criticism from Eagles fans looking for someone to blame for the lack of production... Then low and behold they draft Maclin & Jackson as opposed to Pinkston and Thrash and he looks pretty smart... Garbage in garbage out my friends.
James Urban, assistant offensive coordinator - Urban spent the last two seasons as Eagles QB coach and is the one guy on the staff that could be considered a rising star. I wouldn't be surprised if he got interviews for offensive coordinator jobs next year. He's slogged his way up through the coaching system with the Eagles the hard way starting as an assistant to Andy Reid, than a quality control coach, to finally position coach.
Doug Pederson, QB coach - You all know Doug Pederson, who Andy Reid brought with him from Green Bay in 1999 to basically get beaten up while Donovan McNabb spent the first part of his rookie year on the bench learning. In all, he had a 9 year NFL career. He's spent the last couple years as an offensive quality control coach.
Duce Staley, special teams quality control coach - Former Eagles running back who is still #4 on the Eagles all time rushing list, spent last season as a coaching intern. Now he's officially been added to the staff as a special teams coach, but he'll also continue to work with the running backs as well.