Eagles Hire Special Teams Coach Bobby April
by Bob_Q on Jan 14, 2010 5:03 PM EST
in Philadelphia Eagles News
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In their first major move this offseason, the Eagles have hired former Buffalo Bills special teams coach Bobby April. April, widely regarded as one of the league's best special teams coaches, has already expressed his excitement with working with DeSean Jackson as a punt returner, calling him "electric." He will bring his 18 seasons of NFL experience and two special teams coach of the year awards to the coaching staff.
Per ESPN.com
The Philadelphia Eagles have fired Ted Daisher and hired former Buffalo Bills assistant Bobby April to be their special teams coordinator.
April, who opted out of the final year of his contract with the Bills, agreed to a three-year deal. The Pittsburgh Steelers, along with several other teams, had expressed interest in him.
April decided to take the Eagles' offer after coach Andy Reid convinced him that he wanted to make a major commitment to a talented group of special teams players, including wide receiver DeSean Jackson, who made the Pro Bowl as a receiver and a returner.
April is considered one of the league's top special teams coaches and has won several coaching awards. This was the first major move by the Eagles this offseason.
Daisher spent last season with the Eagles after coaching with the Cleveland Browns.
The Eagles also fired strength and conditioning coach Mike Wolf and assistant strength and conditioning coach Jay Merlino.
This is a huge move for Philly, who will look to improve production from their punting unit, which has been lacking of late. Every upgrade is welcome, and it will certainly be exciting to see the changes April will bring to our talented young team.
Thanks to Eaglesgrl5 for breaking the news.
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Ted Daisher getting the ax isn't much of a surprise, but...
The Eagles also fired strength and conditioning coach Mike Wolf and assistant strength and conditioning coach Jay Merlino.
I think the interesting note is that the Birds whacked these guys who Andy Reid says:
As far as Mike Wolf, he has been nothing but a professional and diligent strength coach for this franchise over the past 15 seasons. He has been a big part in the success the Eagles have had in recent years. We appreciate all the work he and Jay Merlino put in with our players to help them maximize their efforts on the field.Fifteen Seasons, and after this year you decide to give them the boot? I wonder if this year’s rash of injuries made Andy want to go in another direction.
That's what it looks like
But, how do you replace a guy who’s been here longer than Reid?
by LegendKnight22 on Jan 14, 2010 5:26 PM EST up reply actions
Or maybe it's the fact that
As everyone has been saying, the Eagles have become a finesse team that lacks a mean streak. Perhaps we can change that from a strength and conditioning standpoint
Could be
a little of both the “softness” and injuries.
Either way… change is needed. Everybody is calling for change in the form of McNabb/Reid/Westbrook, but maybe these are the types of changes we need.
I like the hire. I didn’t think Ted did all that bad of a job, but what do I know… All I know is Buffalo was ranked #1 in the league on STs for three staright years… sounds like it doesn’t get much better than this guy.
that's actually really interesting
the Football Outsiders dudes put out a “pro football prospectus” stat thing and last year’s(?) had an essay specifically on injuries and how freaking good/lucky the Cowboys have been. They suggested that the training staff of the ‘Pokes might well be have a clue, but also said that it could well be a statistical anomaly. I’m guessing that the training staff is “influencing” the Cowboy’s luck.
by cavortingEagle on Jan 14, 2010 9:24 PM EST up reply actions
I'm thinking its just lucky
We were very healthy this year, and due for a rash of injuries this year, so hopefully they will deal with lots of injuries next year.
Reid- Best Coach in Eagles History
McNabb- Best QB in Eagles History
This is the year
I think only our DB's should be tacklin in camp
because they’re the ones who need it most.
RIP Jim Johnson. You will truly be missed.
Yeaaaaaaaaaa Desean and Demps will rip up ST's next year
eff you we winning anyway
A.I. IS BACKKKKKKK
As I've mentioned
I used to be real heavy in the strength and conditioning and the word around the street was the Eagles S & C program was sub par.
The problem is this. If ANY players get injured the coach loses their job immediately so they really can’t prescribe anything too crazy (although guys like Boldin and Austin do)… On the other hand, some coaches go to the other extreme and make it so weak that it rarely helps.
If you guys want to check out Austin and Cushing’s strength and condtioning stuff check out www.defrancostraining.com. I interned @ the gym where Defranco learned all his methods. Interesting stuff for you guys who lift. I hate to say it but, Austin is a beast
E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!!
Time to draft a punter
The rocca punting experiment needs to end.
Zoltan Mesko from Michigan is worth a 7th round pick (or even a 6th if have too). He averaged over 45 this yr, compared to rocca’s 42.0. Plus all those awful shanks!
Get youself an Aussie, those dudes are tough an can kick the shit ball.
April is a great hire for you guys. One of the best.
If you go back the last 2 games and compare our starting field position with yours it’s a good start to figure out what went wrong.
KICK ASS every day!!!
by squidlo97 on Jan 15, 2010 11:17 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Sav Rocca is Australian. Born in Melbourne.
Let the beasting begin.
by TransplantedFan on Jan 15, 2010 2:59 PM EST up reply actions
This is a fantastic hire for you guys. Bobby April is an innovator. He’s top of the line when it comes to having his troops prepared. He makes his units a factor game in and game out, whether it’s via trick play, big play or simply dominating the opposition.
I cannot overstate how valuable he has been to the Buffalo Bills organization for the past six years. The Bills have sucked, but when the Dallas Morning News names your special teams unit #1 in the league three times in six years, you’re doing something right.
The guy simply is an outstanding coach. When you hear that he’s the best special teams coach in the league, that’s 100% accurate. You should go into the off-season fully expecting to see personnel decisions geared specifically towards boosting his player pool for teams play, because he had a lot of say in what happened on the back end of Buffalo’s roster.
Seriously, folks – if you’re not over the top excited about this, you should be. STs are vastly underrated, and can have phenomenally large impact on dull football games. (I should know – I’m a Bills fan.)
Buffalo Rumblings. On Twitter.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. --Wayne Grezky" --Michael Scott
by Brian Galliford on Jan 14, 2010 7:47 PM EST reply actions 10 recs
This post gets me pumped up. Thanks for stopping by.
by andyreidswaistline on Jan 14, 2010 8:14 PM EST up reply actions
tghanks for posting
that is AWESOME
one thing that is not mentioned is that from 01 to 04 we had REALLY REALLY solid S/Ts and it helped us tremendously
E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!!
I do miss John Harbaugh
He was great with ST.
Reid- Best Coach in Eagles History
McNabb- Best QB in Eagles History
This is the year
Thanks again
…for a great post. I really am pleased the Eagles are taking aggressive action right away.
This doesn't seem major but
The Eagles special teams have been lacking for the last couple of years and at times they have been down right awful on kickoff/punt coverage. Some of that goes to the personal but the coach matters there too.
Still need to figure out who the KR on this team is going to be and hopefully figure out how to get Rocca to be a bit more consistent. This is a step in the right direction.
Thumbs up.
Daisher
I’ve probably never seen ANdy as mad on the sidelines as when Daisher called that timeout… I think it was over for him then.
now it makes sense
Daisher spent last season with the Eagles after coaching with the Cleveland Browns.
I absolutely decline to offer my opinion on or read any posts about the McNabb v. Kolb debacle. Those posts never end and I choose to sit back and wait to see what happens. This is going to be a long offseason.
Thoughts from a Jaguars fan.
I think you guys have a great team but perhaps its the lack of a power running game that is preventing this team from going over the top. When you can physically abuse the other team at the point of the attack it can really wear away at them especially in the later part of the season.
Finesse is great but it doesn’t really help seal the deal: see Colts.
I’ll take “telling us something we already know” for 500 Alex.
Jim Johnson 1941-2009
"The 0-2 pitch, swing and a miss! STRUCK HIM OUT! The Philadelphia Phillies are 2008 World Champions of baseball! And let the city celebrate! " - Harry Kalas 1936-2009
yea hes oblivious to that CRUCIAL fact
only the Colts can pull off not having a running game
RIP Jim Johnson. You will truly be missed.
which may be why they fired the strength and conditioning coach…
by zerofischer on Jan 15, 2010 10:57 AM EST up reply actions
See Colts?
The Colts who won the Superbowl a couple years ago and were the best team in the NFL this year?
Yea the same Colts who couldn't get 2 yards against the Chargers during the playoffs on 3rd down.
Yea for all that talent the Colts have and for all the great regular season success they have had they sure suck in the playoffs. Now watch them get punched in the mouth by the Ravens.
And they are not the best in the NFL.
The Chargers, Cowboys, Vikings, Saints are all better than the Colts.
hey thanks
for the insight. But we all know that and agree with you. I also think that getting some “nastiness” in here would be good too. Not thugs at all but we have a roster of choir boys here and it’s crazy in my opinion. In a sport where hitting hard and tackling is a must on every play we really have a weak roster. Our O-line rarely gets a push when everyone knows they need to and the D-line is about the same.
Lets get some of the old in here – Trotter, Runyan, etc. They had streaks where they just got fed up and moved lines by themselves when they were in their prime. We need that attitude back!
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