Mike Zordich Talks Penn State, Eagles Safeties

Eagles secondary coach Mike Zordich was an All-American safety at Penn State. His son is now the Nittany Lions' starting fullback. I'm sure you can guess what the first question he was asked was about....

"As a parent of three kids, those victims, the things that happened to those kids, those children, that is tough for me to think about ... The circumstances, the consequences that came out yesterday, are they difficult? Yes. But we have to accept them and we have to understand why those things were put on Penn State. It's a sad story, and really, that's all I want to say about that."

As for his two starting safeties, Nate Allen & Kurt Coleman, Zordich says the two heard the criticism of themselves last year and come into this season with something to prove.

"They're playing with a chip on their shoulder. When you play this game, there is nothing wrong with having a chip on their shoulder. It's a mean, tough, and violent game. For those guys, there is nothing wrong with that. Have they had problems in the past? Absolutely. Do they deserve some of the criticism? Yes. At the same time, they have shown that they are resilient, they can come back from it, and they can play pretty good football."

Of course, you've got to win a starting job before you can take your anger out on the opposition. While Nate Allen seems to have his spot all but locked down, Kurt Coleman is another story. He's got some competition in camp from not only 2nd year man Jaiquwan Jarrett, but also veteran OJ Atogwe, who Zordich thinks still has something left.

"I still see a pretty darn good football player. I don't know what happened [at the Redskins]. I see a guy with a lot of playing experience, very good play-making ability, and I see a guy who knows how to get turnovers. Those are very important things."