The Eagles requested permission to interview three coaches this week and were denied the chance to speak with all but one. The Eagles were denied the chance to interview Dolphins DB coach Todd Bowles and Bengals DB coach Kevin Coyle, but allowed to interview Chicago Bears secondary coach Jon Hoke.
The news that the Eagles sought to interview at least three candidates this week does throw into doubt the earlier speculation that the team had their eye on one of the Super Bowl assistants and were simply waiting for the conclusion of the game to make their move. It may still be the case that they’ll look to interview a Packers or Steelers coach as has been rumored, but they certainly don’t seem to be zeroed in on one.
There may be a bit of a pattern emerging with the type of guys that the Eagles are targeting as nearly all have been secondary coaches. The two official interviews they’ve conducted have been with secondary coaches as were the two they were denied permission to speak with. There have also been rumors that the Eagles are interested in Packers secondary coach Darren Perry. A bit more on Hoke after the jump.
Jon Hoke has been a coach at the college level since the early 80s and moved to the NFL in 2002 to become secondary coach for the Houston Texans. He held that position until 2008 when he moved to Chicago to take the job with the Bears. Under Hoke, the Bears allowed the second lowest amount of TD passes in the league this season, in contrast the Eagles set a franchise record for passing TDs allowed in 2010.
Hoke also had a short career as a player with Kansas City Chiefs and Chicago Bears. While he has never been a defensive coordinator at the pro level, but has seven seasons of experience leading a defense at the college level. He’s also the brother of new Michigan Wolverines head coach Brady Hoke.