Getty Former Eagles WR Freddie Mitchell makes the epic 4th-and-26 catch in a 2004 divisional playoff game versus Green Bay.
The Philadelphia Eagles are always in the news when Andy Reid advances to the Super Bowl, that’s just the nature of the beast. He was the franchise’s greatest head coach prior to Doug Pederson.
Now with a new head coach in place, the Eagles are looking to capture that magic and win their second Super Bowl title, but it won’t be without nostalgia. Former Eagles wide receiver Freddie Mitchell took to social media to slam Donovan McNabb — the greatest quarterback in Eagles franchise history — for not playing nice with others in the proverbial sandbox (he’s not wrong, ask Lenny Dykstra). That 2004 team should have won multiple championships instead of zero.
We seriously should have won 3 Super Bowls smh 🤦🏾♂️
Draw your own conclusions. Mitchell openly complained about the way Reid treated him during his tenure in Philly despite the former first-round pick (25th overall in 2001) greatly underachieving.
“At the end of the day what he tried to do was he tried to put a price tag on me that nobody was even going to touch,” Mitchell said of Reid at the time. “When they found out that they wasn’t going to touch me, he released me, and then the blackball began with all kinds of dirt saying I was a cancer to the team. I talk too much and everything else. It’s funny because you never heard a teammate complain about me.”
Long live 4th-and-26 — the miraculous Hail Mary heave from McNabb to Mitchell that remains one of the greatest plays in Eagles’ franchise history. No question about it.
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Eagles Defensive Line Coach Hired?
Meanwhile, the Eagles appear close to naming Tracy Rocker as their next defensive line coach. The 54-year-old coach overlapped new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon for two years in Tennessee before going on to a stellar career at Auburn.
The Athletic’s Pete Thamel first reported the possible hire. Rocker would likely be replacing Matt Burke unless they intend to change Burke’s title. Remember, the Eagles are still looking for a linebackers coach after Ken Flajole decided to retire.
Sources: The Philadelphia Eagles have targeted Auburn’s Tracy Rocker to be the new defensive line coach. He’s expected to join Jonathan Gannon’s defensive staff in Philadelphia.
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Ex-Eagles President Praises Tampa Bay DC
One of the guys high on the Eagles list of head-coaching candidates list was Todd Bowles who served as defensive coordinator under Reid. He was the victim of circumstance and fell on the sword after the failed Juan Castillo experiment. But former Eagles president Joe Banner put some respect on his name on Sunday.
Been saying it for a long time. Todd Bowles is best DC in football and I hope he gets another chance as HC. With support from the front office he can be a winner.
“As a football coach, you have to improve every year,” Bowles told New York Newsday. “That’s a never-ending job. I don’t care if it’s 20 years … I just have to keep my head down and work. Coaching is going to be ups and downs. You have to treat them on an individual basis and keep moving and not get too consumed by the outside noise.”
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