The Philadelphia Eagles are reconfiguring their offensive coaching staff following a dismal 2020 campaign. Senior offensive assistant Rich Scangarello will be the first casualty as the team will reportedly let his contract expire, per Geoff Mosher and Adam Caplan.
Scangarello was hired to improve the offense, but the unit finished 24th in the NFL in total offense (334.6 yards-per-game, down 10 spots from 2019) and 26th in total points (20.9 points-per-game, down 12 spots from 2019). More alarmingly, Carson Wentz regressed under his stewardship before eventually being benched for Jalen Hurts. He talked about the challenges of the COVID-19 impacted offseason earlier in the year.
“It’s been different from the sense the day I took the job because of really what has happened in the world,” Scangarello told reporters on Oct. 16. “The offseason unfortunately, not to make excuses, but it’s the reality of it, that lack of ability to practice in April and May and get to know the players and their strengths, and the coaches to really work with them within our scheme.”
SCOOP from @GeoffMosherNFL and @caplannfl of @InsideBirds: #Eagles will allow senior offensive assistant Rich Scangarello’s contract to expire, per sources. He won’t return to the staff.
The team had hired the former #Broncos OC last offseason to help improve the offense.
Scangarello had earned a reputation as a bit of a “quarterback whisperer” for his work with Jimmy Garoppolo in San Francisco and Drew Lock in Denver. He was fired last year after one year as Broncos offensive coordinator. Prior to that, the 48-year-old was an offensive quality control coach for the Atlanta Falcons where he spent time with Matt Ryan.
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Nate Sudfeld, Building Up the Quarterbacks Room
Scangarello’s primary job in Philly was to develop the quarterbacks — all three of them, including third-stringer Nate Sudfeld who has been in the news for his role in TankGate.
The Eagles assistant coach was asked about Sudfeld back in October and praised his work on the scout team. Sudfeld had been working closely with both Wentz and Hurts as an important sounding board.
“Nate is a really good pro. I think it’s important, the way you build the quarterback room in the NFL,” Scangarello said of Sudfeld. “I think his relationship with Jalen has gotten better as they’ve gotten to know each other. I see them working hard together which I value and I appreciate out of both them and I think they both have been supportive of Carson which is an important thing in the NFL.”
Teaching Left Foot Forward Technique
Scangarello was supposed to be a footwork guru and clean up Wentz’s bad habits. Known as a “film rat,” the former Broncos offensive coordinator made Lock use virtual reality technology (STRIVR system) and asked him to place his left foot forward in the shotgun. It was something he was trying to teach Wentz, but the quarterback didn’t seem open to it.
#Eagles offensive assistant Rich Scangarello compared Carson Wentz to Matt Ryan. Scangarello worked as a quality control coach in Atlanta in 2015. “I think I would compare Carson more mentally to like a Matt Ryan. I wasn’t in the room with Matt, but I was there and around it.”
“The left foot forward part of it was something we really used, was something that fit our timing of our offense,” Scangarello said. “Every offense is different. Carson, his mechanics have gotten better and better. He’s worked really hard in the offseason. He’s not changing in any way. We’re continuing to do what they’ve done here.”
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Eagles Firing Ex-Broncos Coach, Offensive Assistant: Report