Some Eagles Players Wanted Sean McDermott Gone

by JasonB on Jan 17, 2011 11:58 AM EST in Philadelphia Eagles News

Jeff McLane wrote a great a piece in the Inquirer today that sheds some light on why Sean McDermott was fired. He reports that one or two starters on the Eagles defense flat out told Andy Reid after the season that McDermott should be gone. Several people on the site alerted us that over the weekend, former Eagle Jeremiah Trotter said on WIP that an Eagles player told him that McDermott was the worst coordinator he's had at any level. Now I didn't hear that myself, but If it's true, it's damning.

There's one pretty obvious candidate for a guy that might be among those who wanted McDermott gone, Trent Cole. Over the weekend, we discussed how a few weeks ago when he was asked whether he was a a slump as far as sacks go, he responded by saying it was no slump... he was just doing what he being asked to do. Namely, drop into coverage... As McLane points out, that was something Cole had been critical of.

Trent Cole, who could not be reached for comment, told reporters earlier this season that he did not like McDermott's zone-blitzing schemes, which required the defensive end to sometimes drop back into pass coverage.

The piece also pointed out McDermott's failed experiments with different schemes, which despite being a supporter of McDermott, Quintin Mikell admitted did not work.

McDermott, always a fiddler, began scheming radical ways to stop offenses. For instance, against the New York Giants in December, he unveiled a third-down look that had no linebackers and seven defensive backs on the field.

"Going into that week, I thought that was a good idea," Mikell said. "It looked like something that would work against [Giants quarterback Eli Manning]. But it didn't, although we did eventually adjust."

It'll be interesting as the weeks go by whether we'll hear more about the players' feelings on their ex-coach. That said, I can understand if Trent Cole was upset that the he was being asked to play coverage rather than rush the passer, that was certainly something a lot of fans were screaming about... but beyond him there's not a whole lot of players on that defense that have much room to talk. You don't get to have the worst red zone defense in 22 years just from poor coaching or ill-conceived schemes. The players are every bit as culpable as McDermott.

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I hope it wasn’t Ernie Sims who said that McDermott was the worst coordinator that he has ever played for, now that would be an insult.

by Tron79 on Jan 17, 2011 12:05 PM EST reply actions

I hope it was Ernie Sims.

"You have been banned from Big Blue View...for rightly telling us a) what a shitsack blog we run and b) what a shitsack team we root for"

Q: What do a leaky tampon and Sean McDermott's defense have in common?
A: They are equally ineffective in the red zone.

by EvilBanner on Jan 17, 2011 2:08 PM EST up reply actions

Look at the 4 defenses left in the playoffs, our talent doesn't compare

If he had the players, Sean McDermott would looked at as some kinda maniacal genius with those defensive alignments. Guess those are the breaks, its the NFL.

by ThePaceMaker on Jan 17, 2011 12:24 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

no

McD would drop harrison, woodley, and hampton into coverage and rush ryan clark and gay. All part of his “clever blitz schemes”

by CornOnTheKolb on Jan 17, 2011 3:09 PM EST up reply actions

LMAO...

And probably bench Troy P.

by Qwest on Jan 17, 2011 4:42 PM EST up reply actions

Didn’t the Rams get beaten by the Pats in 2002 because of the “penny” package?

Didn’t the Giants win the SB with Billacheat with the same “penny” package? VS the Bills?

The beef I had with this guy was the same one I have with the offense. They were very predictable to me. They wouldn’t blitz and then when they would it would be telegraphed horribly. JJ’s defenses didn’t do that. That’s all I can really about that. Most of the time when I saw the blitz look, I think I would say the 80% of the time we would get it.

by topcat6 on Jan 17, 2011 12:32 PM EST reply actions

While I have said...

…that I believe that the players are culpable for the defensive struggles, too…I don’t think that they are “every bit as culpable as McDermott”. Especially in the redzone. Look, I am no defensive coordinator, but there are several things that are defense 101 type things that I saw this team not do, from a play calling standpoint. IMHO, lots of times, the focus of the defense was not correct, meaning that whether there was execution or not, the offense was going to have success. You simply can not play as bad as we did in the redzone and keep your job…especially on a playoff team that set a record for points on offense.

by Qwest on Jan 17, 2011 12:35 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

I do think at least some players are every bit as culpable. MAybe his schemes weren’t great, but the execution of whatever he asked wasn’t great either.

The Titans game for instance. He was calling double coverage on Kenny Britt and yet Hobbs and Allen were getting abused anyway.

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by JasonB on Jan 17, 2011 12:43 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

Yeah. Hobbs was hurt and that was on him to let McDermott know how badly he was injured.

by MG77 on Jan 17, 2011 12:56 PM EST up reply actions

It doesn’t matter if we had a great defense or not. There is no way we would beat anybody with the same obvious look.

If jordans job was to get rebounds and not shoot the ball. He wouldnt be the man he is today.. You dont make 1 of the best pass rushers in the game drop back in coverage.. EVER!!! It doesnt matter who we had on the field.. It could have been 3 guys from the crowd on the field who with the right play calling could have at least rushed QBs to make quicker passes.. We almost never had pressure.. EVER! maybe because trent cole was to busy covering air

by phillyisback on Jan 17, 2011 1:03 PM EST up reply actions

Basketball =/= Football. Probably not a good comparison there.

" 'You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.' -Wayne Gretzky " -Michael Scott

by PhiladelphiaEagles on Jan 17, 2011 1:15 PM EST up reply actions

I disagree.

It was a great comparison. If the objective of the defense is wrong, it doesn’t matter how good the players are. Trent Cole is a pro bowl DEnd that should have 10+ sacks the last four seasons. YOU DON’T ASK HIM TO DROP INTO COVERAGE. Does Freeney drop into coverage? No. NEVER. Leave that cutesy stuff for a less capable pass rusher.

by Qwest on Jan 17, 2011 1:22 PM EST up reply actions

Remember, I wrote the FanPost...

…that he had the worst day of ANY Eagle in our loss. He has no identity. We all knew one thing…when JJ’s back was agaisnt the wall…he would come out blitzing. We don’t know who McDermott is…hell, I don’t know if HE knows who he is yet. And i would much rather someone going out in a blazing glory for what they believe in…but they won’t if they don’t know what that is.

Of course some players are culpable. But if you are being asked to do something that isn’t going to stop the offense, it doesn’t matter how good of a player you are.

by Qwest on Jan 17, 2011 1:24 PM EST up reply actions

If the players aren’t executing the playcall then isn’t the coaches responsibilty to make a change? Hobbs hurt the team by not telling the coaches of his injury, but clearly the double coverage wasn’t working with Hobbs and Allen. When Britt started gouging the eagles the didn’t move cornerbacks, they didn’t move safties, they didn’t sub anyone in for Hobbs or Allen. After the game the coaches said that such moves were only for a “emergency scenario”. If one player singlehandedly beating a defense like Britt did doesn’t constitute a change then clearly the coaching staff is incapable of signifigant mid-game adjustments.

by stash600 on Jan 17, 2011 2:04 PM EST up reply actions

Well

it doesn’t look like Asante Samuel had an issue with him:

It’s unfortunate how this business works in the NFL. Sean is a good guy and a good coach. I wish him the best and I no he is determined to succeed.

-Per Asante’s twitter

by Team Serbia on Jan 17, 2011 12:40 PM EST reply actions

What he says publicly is immaterial. I would expect nothing less.

by Uhaul on Jan 17, 2011 1:18 PM EST up reply actions

I think “irrelevant” is the word you’re looking for there, not “immaterial”.

by AZ Eagle on Jan 17, 2011 4:22 PM EST up reply actions

Hey, Merriam Webster...

You do understand that they mean the same thing, don’t you?

by Uhaul on Jan 17, 2011 7:47 PM EST up reply actions

maybe he's another andy?

by JonnyF on Jan 18, 2011 2:45 AM EST up reply actions

Some things I noticed players saying on twitter this weekend:

LB Moise Fokou

Lets pay our respect to those who have worked so hard for us, believed in us when no one did, fought for us through n through ie Sean Mcderm

LB Jamar Chaney

Coach Sean McDermott was a good young defensive coordinator. No doubt in my mind he’ll b a great DC in the future.

CB Asante Samuel

It’s unfortunate how this business works in the NFL. Sean is a good guy and a good coach. I wish him the best and I no he is determined to succeed.

DT Jeff Owens
bq. your thoughts on Sean Mcdermott firing? I thought McDermott was a good coach

Jeff Owens also said something like “that sucks…” in response to the Rory Segrest firing, as well.

" 'You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.' -Wayne Gretzky " -Michael Scott

by PhiladelphiaEagles on Jan 17, 2011 12:41 PM EST reply actions

DT Jeff Owens

Questioner: your thoughts on Sean Mcdermott firing? Jeff Owens: I thought McDermott was a good coach

" 'You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.' -Wayne Gretzky " -Michael Scott

by PhiladelphiaEagles on Jan 17, 2011 12:43 PM EST up reply actions

Not that I’m saying these quotes are biased, but I can’t see Fokou and Chaney hating on Sean McD after he gave them starting positions.

by Team Serbia on Jan 17, 2011 12:46 PM EST up reply actions

Exactly

I bet you Fokou gives a different answer after in training camp when McDermott vacillated on what to do with him.

My impression is that most of these quotes are just players publicly saying the savvy thing. Even if they did have a gripe with McDermott, best to just say something like Samuels did publicly. It is the professional thing to do.

Take these supporitve comments with a grain of salt especially from the rookies.

by MG77 on Jan 17, 2011 12:52 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

Note: I personally support the moves the Eagles made. I’m not posting them with a subjective agenda. Doing it just so that you guys could see them all in once place.

" 'You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.' -Wayne Gretzky " -Michael Scott

by PhiladelphiaEagles on Jan 17, 2011 12:58 PM EST up reply actions

The truth is!!!!

David Akers might have threw that game. Believe me. There are people who didn’t want to win with Michael Vick. I might be jumping to far but F*%K it..

If Akers made just 1 of his 2 missed field goals.. The eagles could have won the game with a field goal at the end of the game.

But on another note about the D.

I went through a whole season screaming at the TV every game about how much I hated the way our defense ran the 43. Even on 3rd and 12 we always had 3 linebackers perfectly lined up as if they were a highschool team. Watching greenbays d almost made us look like amateurs. They were moving around to the point you almost had no idea what kind of D they were in. But the eagles were in the OBVIOUS same 43 with no different look at all. Thats why Minnesota ran the same exact play to convert that 3rd down pass right over the middle behind our middle linebacker who no matter who it was that was in was always saw running with his back to the ball and his hands up always getting beat. The bottom line is that we need to snatch out SIMS and throw in a guy like hanson who can at least be used to cover that WEAK GAP over the middle that JOE WEBB EXPOSED

by phillyisback on Jan 17, 2011 12:56 PM EST reply actions

i stopped reading after your first sentence

ive known akers for years, not on a personal basis but my neighbor used to baby sit his kids, and just no… no

He hit him in a bad spot... the hands.

by DaaaBirdsDaBirds on Jan 17, 2011 1:03 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs

Well you don’t know him..

It is almost retarded to believe that you know a guy for years because your next door neighbor used to allegedly babysit his children.

That’s not called knowing somebody for years! WTF. What a weirdo..

Replay that game and look at Vicks face after Akers missed that chip shot. Akers wasn’t even angry when he missed.

bottom line is akers terrible kicking cost us the game. A PLAYOFF GAME AT THAT!!!! See where I’m from. We tell the truth no matter what! Hobbs was getting lit up by Britt in a regular season game.. Everyone called him out.. When Akers misses FGs in a playoff game that could have won the game for us with no pressure on his back.. You dudes write it off and give him a pass.. Get akers out of here.. FAST!!!! yea akers is money from 30 yds and in most of the time.. But thats like keeping a guy because he can make 90% of his lay ups..

by phillyisback on Jan 17, 2011 1:14 PM EST up reply actions

Hahaha

Instead of creating stupid conspiracy theories and imagining that our kicker is somehow not one of the best in the league, take a look at the facts

Career stats for Akers

0-19: 100%
20-29: 98.9%
30-39: 88.0%
40-49: 69.2%
50+: 48.3%

Career stats for one of the best kickers ever, Vinatieri

0-19: 100%
20-29: 96.3%
30-39: 84.1%
40-49: 71.9%
50+: 47.6%

Why isn’t everyone all over Akers right now? Well, because this is the first time, ever, that he’s played a major part in an Eagles’ playoff loss. The Eagles have won so many more playoff games because of him than they have lost because of him. Besides, plenty of people are blaming Akers, so it’s not like he’s getting away without a scratch. But getting rid of him? You’re going to let one of the greatest kickers in the game today go?

by Caperi on Jan 17, 2011 1:25 PM EST up reply actions

C'mon

Look at the Cowboys, Saints, Redskins, … They have marginal kickers and they’re still doing go— oh wait…

by stash600 on Jan 17, 2011 2:09 PM EST up reply actions

But if he were in on it...

…it would be the perfect time. No one would suspect him. You said it yourself: “Well, because this is the first time, ever, that he’s played a major part in an Eagles’ playoff loss.” This quote is the most damning evidence of all. The evidence is mounting that he directly threw the game, but I don’t think that too many people here are willing to open their eyes to the truth. The freemasons are a powerful force, sir. A powerful force too terrible to directly mention.

"You have been banned from Big Blue View...for rightly telling us a) what a shitsack blog we run and b) what a shitsack team we root for"

Q: What do a leaky tampon and Sean McDermott's defense have in common?
A: They are equally ineffective in the red zone.

by EvilBanner on Jan 17, 2011 2:16 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs

Sorry, but no

The wind was crazy that day, it would randomly blow from all different directions. A 41 yarder is not a chip shot, and we have no idea if the other kicker could have made it.

The second one, he probably should have made, but in reality, they should have gone for it on fourth and inches.

Eagles- 10-6, NFC East Division Champs, but still a disappointing year!
Phillies- 4 weeks til Aces and Catchers report!
Flyers- Looking pretty good so far

by bdawk4ever on Jan 17, 2011 2:54 PM EST up reply actions

+ 1000

grew up in Pa. lived there for 40 years but my job has taken me deep into the swamps of louisiana where all you here is "who dat" who dat" and on clear nights when the wind is gently blowing from the northwest you can hear the wimpers and sobs of jerry and his herd of cowgirls.

by eagleflownsouth on Jan 17, 2011 1:24 PM EST up reply actions

wow!

I know Kobe Bryant personally, I mean not personally but my ex-girlfriend’s brother’s uncle used to deliver the newspaper to his house.

by jagggger on Jan 18, 2011 11:33 PM EST up reply actions

Ahh no

and please put down the crack pipe son

by eagleflownsouth on Jan 17, 2011 1:18 PM EST up reply actions

o

by eagleflownsouth on Jan 17, 2011 1:19 PM EST up reply actions

Wow.

This post is full of stupid.

by Uhaul on Jan 17, 2011 1:20 PM EST up reply actions

Lol

by chase8008 on Jan 17, 2011 1:35 PM EST up reply actions

i know it's too late

but it wasn’t all akers fault that guy who holds the ball after the snap had it in a slant to the left twice that help to make the ball go fully right , check the replays if u didnt see , it’s his fault lets get him and make him pay LOL but for real i’m mad as hell about it , jus check the replay of the two kicks

by Real raptors fan on Jan 18, 2011 1:03 PM EST up reply actions

He did it on purpose.

Akers’ best seasons were with Koy Detmer who used to do the same thing. He’s been trying to get a holder that can do that ever since Detmer’s been gone.

by Qwest on Jan 18, 2011 3:01 PM EST up reply actions

i dont understand

Last in redzone defense.

Last.

Last, last, last, last.

Name a worst team since 1989 in red zone defense? None.

Last.

If we were last in every category, i’d blame the players for just being terrible. But outside the redzone we weren’t bad.

How could you not blame the coordinator? Terrible.

I don’t blame him for the meltdown against britt, or having trouble stopping the run against greenbay, that’s just injury/young defense.

But something has to give.

2010-11 Predictions:

Kevin Kolb will go to the probowl and complete >65% of passes.

Jeremy Maclyn will have more receptions than Miles Austin & Steve Smith

Graham will have the starting LDE spot tied up by week 5, win ROTY, and have >10 Sacks

11-5 finish.

by corn on the kolb on Jan 17, 2011 1:02 PM EST via mobile reply actions

Unrelated to your comment, your 2010-2011 predictions didn’t really turn out all that well.

" 'You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.' -Wayne Gretzky " -Michael Scott

by PhiladelphiaEagles on Jan 17, 2011 1:10 PM EST up reply actions

yeah

Though I wasn’t off on maclin iirc, my record was close too. But I clearly jumped the gun on graham. DE’s do take 2-3 years to develop. But having an offensive guy being a defensive line coach prolly didn’t help

2010-11 Predictions:

Kevin Kolb will go to the probowl and complete >65% of passes.

Jeremy Maclyn will have more receptions than Miles Austin & Steve Smith

Graham will have the starting LDE spot tied up by week 5, win ROTY, and have >10 Sacks

11-5 finish.

by corn on the kolb on Jan 17, 2011 2:55 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

Call it like it is.. This is the NFL..

Just because you are a good person doesn’t mean that you deserve to keep a job that you are looking terrible doing..

I saw so many comments on this site about how Kolb should get a chance to attempt to become good like Aaron Rogers did. And this was at the peak of Vick looking great.

I mean seriously!!! Vick put on a hall of fame performance against the redskins and led the eagles to 1 of the best comebacks in the history of the game all in the same season!!!! and people still were saying (give kolb a chance).. These people aren’t football fans.. NO WAY ARE THEY FOOTBALL FANS!!!! They are the Mclovin / Naplolean dynamite looking geek football debaters.

by phillyisback on Jan 17, 2011 1:26 PM EST up reply actions

WTF BRO

Did you steal my name!?

by CornOnTheKolb on Jan 17, 2011 3:10 PM EST up reply actions

lol!

He Deebo’ed your name. You need to chang yours now because i recognize him as the first!

by Qwest on Jan 17, 2011 4:43 PM EST up reply actions

i had a cornonthekolb lake 1.5 years ago but forgot the password so i made this one...

by CornOnTheKolb on Jan 17, 2011 5:24 PM EST up reply actions

Yoda says...

A joke, that was.
Serious, do not take.

by Qwest on Jan 18, 2011 3:06 PM EST up reply actions

No surprise here:

Remaining teams in playoffs are in Top 6 in scoring defense. Steelers (1), Pack (2), Bears (4), Jets (6) … Eagles Tied for 21st

Per @JordanRaanan

" 'You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.' -Wayne Gretzky " -Michael Scott

by PhiladelphiaEagles on Jan 17, 2011 1:07 PM EST reply actions

Didinger's point

“The Eagles invested nine of their 13 draft picks on defensive players – including all of the first five – and had little to show for it. End Brandon Graham was a disappointment before he went down with an injury. Safety Nate Allen started off well enough but had a nightmare game in Tennessee and then he, too, was injured. Te’o-Nesheim was such a bust, the Eagles were pulling guys off the scrap heap (Derrick Burgess, Bobby McCray) to line up ahead of him by the end of the year.”

http://www.csnphilly.com/01/15/11/bDidingerb-Was-McDermott-the-Eagles-fall/landing_insider_didinger.html?blockID=392086&feedID=692

Didinger makes a great point. For investing so much in the draft defensively, the Eagles had very little production to show for it. Worse, they have serious question marks on how much Graham & Allen will contribute next year especially early in the year due to the injuries. Let’s also not forget that Alex Hall was a nonfactor, Sims was a largely a bust this year and ’Spoon had a much better year in KC, and the Eagles gave up too much in the Tapp trade. Really you can trace a ton of this blame back on the FO and Howie Roseman who had a really shitty 1st year as the GM.

Eagles missed Graham alot more than Allen because it overexposed Parker and took away a guy who could at least occasionally get to the QB. Allen went out, Coleman came in, and the Eagles really didn’t have that much a downgrade in performance at FS. Pretty damning indictment when a 7th round rookie comes in, takes over, and the team doesn’t have much of a failoff in performance.

by MG77 on Jan 17, 2011 1:17 PM EST reply actions

I agree the 2010 draft was a little bit of a disappointment because there's no budding superstar on the horizon but

Chaney, Lindley, Cooper maybe Clayton are all going to contribute more next season. If Graham and Allen’s injuries doesn’t stunt there growth I believe the draft will be considered mildly successful.

by ThePaceMaker on Jan 17, 2011 2:11 PM EST up reply actions

At the same time, if the Eagles are trying to build a defensive core through the draft, it was probably somewhat unrealistic to expect the D to be world-beaters in these draftees’ first years.

Dismissing this core at this juncture is silly. Yes, not all the pieces are there, but with time we can build a decent D on the foundation of these players.

DTMWTD

by alcatraz0109 on Jan 17, 2011 3:49 PM EST up reply actions

I could see Asante also having a problem

Offenses were able to scheme him out of being relevant… That’d piss me off.

by Sparki on Jan 17, 2011 1:17 PM EST reply actions

McDermott's job rumors

Why other teams would even consider him as a defensive coordinator position is beyond me. He is the type of guy who almost needs to take a step back to a non-coordinator position for a few years at the NFL level to gather the additional experience and cahce on his resume.

by MG77 on Jan 17, 2011 1:21 PM EST reply actions

Carolina has hired McDermott as D-coordinator. They se something.

Minor league reviews at philliesphans.com. Check out phuturephillies.com for discussion of minor leaguers by a great staff.

by phillychuck on Jan 17, 2011 8:43 PM EST up reply actions

The Eagles apparently want a new scheme & new approach I hope the new approach still involves blitzing. I agree that it is probably wise to go with a new scheme so they don’t have Jim Johnson hanging over there head.

by The Legend on Jan 17, 2011 1:43 PM EST reply actions

If our best defensive player didnt buy in to the scheme

then whats the point really. McD was horrible at maxing potential (chris clemons, babin, cole, graham, sims (who might just suck balls regardless), etc, etc.

by CornOnTheKolb on Jan 17, 2011 3:15 PM EST reply actions

Here it is

Was it Sean or the players? I would have to say the players. Do you even watch the games? Well guess what people? Sean will go to Carolina and be a good coord. Bottom line Andy Reid is dont let your players do the talking. Players dont know crap most of the time. Most of the time they look out for themselves.

by Drew P on Jan 17, 2011 8:54 PM EST reply actions

Ding Dong McDermott is gone!

Finally………….We should have lift him in Dallas and went with a real D.C. Now what about Roseman? He doesn’t have a clue about judging a player’s skills!

by illphreak on Jan 17, 2011 11:57 PM EST reply actions

Oooops!

I forgot to mention we need a better holder for Akers and trade
corny the “I want to be a starter” Kolb for some more draft picks for Roseman to screw up with this summer. If he’s as good as he thinks he is we need O line help bad! Does Winston “Jailbreak” Justice ring a bell? If it wasnt for Vick this season would have been as bad as the worst pre-season predictions!

by illphreak on Jan 18, 2011 12:09 AM EST reply actions