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It was reported on Thursday, February 8th, that the Philadelphia Eagles would hire Bobby King as their linebackers coach, according to Sports Illustrated’s Ed Kracz. That article was titled “Report: Eagles Hire LB Coach, But Where Are The Linebackers?” Well, some avid fans have already begun speculating, trying to answer that question.
A post by Outside DiBirds has now garnered close to 100,000 views, suggesting that a linebacker from King’s former team could be coming over to become a central figure of the Eagles’ defense in 2024. @OutsideDiBirds wrote, “Azeez Al-Shaair is a 26-year-old LB heading into free agency after posting 163 total tackles and two sacks last season for the Titans. Guess who his position coach was in Tennessee! That’s right…Eagles newest addition to their coaching staff, Bobby King!”
Coming Off a Break Out Year, Al-Shaair Would Make a Great Addition for the Birds
In 2023, Al-Shaair finished with 163 tackles, which gave him the fifth most total tackles in the entire NFL. This was a breakout season for the 26-year-old linebacker after being developed his first four years in the league out in San Francisco under one of the best and most consistent defenses year in and year out with the 49ers.
After this idea started making the rounds on social media, @Phillyfan21 actually made a video to highlight how the Eagles might be a “perfect fit” for Al-Shaair if he’s wanting to continue the success he had under King in Tennessee.
For Al-Shaair, Philadelphia Could Represent Another Opportunity for Continued NFL Success
It can be hard to predict success in the NFL. Success usually necessitates the intersection of talent and opportunity, but as of right now the Eagles’ roster has a gaping hole of opportunity.
Just as Kracz said in his article, “Bobby King is expected to be the next linebackers coach for the Philadelphia Eagles but has only two LBs signed at the moment – Nakobe Dean and Ben VanSumeren.”
Nakobe Dean will be entering his third season for Philly, but in that time he’s only registered four starts, and he missed the majority of last season after going to IR with a Lisfranc injury to his foot. Dean did show a lot of promise as a third round pick out of Georgia, but so far he hasn’t been able to stay on the field long enough to prove he can be a center piece for this defense.
Ben VanSumeren just played in his first NFL season where he started one game for the Eagles, but as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan State he doesn’t exactly pose a threat to Al-Shaair’s playing time if he were to sign sometime during the offseason.
Adding Pieces to this Defense Could Be the Eagles’ Most Important Challenge of the Offseason
As it stands, the Eagles could lose defensive players LB Shaun Bradley, LB Zach Cunningham, LB Shaquille Leonard, LB Nicholas Morrow, DT Fletcher Cox, S Justin Evans, DE Brandon Graham, and CB Bradley Roby to Free Agency. Some of these names have been key contributors for the Eagles. GM Howie Roseman will have to figure out how to fill the holes if they want to stay competitive in 2024.
Part of the plan for Roseman and the Eagles’ front office might have actually been to attract key pieces just as these fans have suggested. The truth is that these are such big holes to fill they would need to explore every angle. In fact, my colleague Beth Mishler-Elmore, who covers the Eagles with Heavy Sports, suggested just yesterday that the Dolphins CB Xavien Howard could come over with new DC Vic Fangio.
However it happens, Roseman and company will have to fill out the roster, and these avid fans are just doing simple math. We shouldn’t be surprised to players like Howard and Al-Shaair suiting up in green come August.
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