Sean McDermott is interested in the Eagles head coaching job

The Philadelphia Eagles been linked to a number of candidates regarding their head coaching vacancy. One of the names they haven't been linked to, however, is Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott. The Eagles reportedly haven't reached out to him (yet), despite the fact Carolina has a bye this week and he's available to interview.

With no formal interview in place, Sean McDermott kind of made a case for himself during a radio appearance on the 97.5 The Fanatic Morning Show with Anthony Gargano. Listen to the entire interview here. The highlights are below:

Is McDermott interested in the Eagles job?

"Oh, yeah, I mean, listen. We love it here. Living in Carolina, it’s been great, being here for five years. But yeah, we’re always interested. I love the Philadelphia area. And quite honestly, it’s been tough to watch over the last several years, you know, having grown up in the area and working there for 12 years. 

The fan base, I know what’s important to them. I know they’re genuine, they’re dedicated, and they’re real. And the facilities up there, they’re second to none. I’d love to see the Eagles recapture the magic, so to speak."

What did McDermott learn from legendary Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson?

"I don’t think there’s a lot of people that are fortunate enough like I was to to be around a mention like Jim and like Andy [Reid], to be honest with you. With Jim, in particular on the defensive side of things, he really taught me how to attack an offense, how to attack an opposing quarterback, and how to formulate a game plan and everything, and then really make in game adjustments.

I didn’t realize it at that the time, how fortunate I was at a young age, being just 24, 25 years old, and one of, if not the youngest position coaches in the league at the time for a number of years there. Working with guys like Brian Dawkins, Michael Lewis, and then Quentin Mikell, it was just a special, special early time in my professional career. Jim’s just been a huge influence on me professionally and in some ways personally as well.

And probably, as you mentioned a few minutes ago Anthony, with the attitude and the toughness. I mean, there’s no substitute for it. This is how we play, this is who we are. And hey, let’s go to work at one o’clock on Sunday afternoon."

What did McDermott learn since being fired by the Eagles?

"Probably the biggest thing is from a leadership standpoint. The game is not all about X’s and O’s. It’s bigger than that. It’s leadership, and it’s about people, as I’ve already mentioned. We’re not in the business of making doorknobs, (laughs) if you will, and we’re in the business of people. You’ve got to connect with people and, in particular, the modern athlete. There’s different things that you’ve got to do as a coach these days and as a teacher to relate to the modern athlete. I think we do that well here.

And just communicating a vision. As I mentioned before, that daily standard: This is what we’re all about, this is standard whether we play on Sunday afternoon, it’s not only that, but it’s a standard every day. It’s how we meet, it’s how we live, it’s how we practice, it’s how we play a darn preseason game. This is what it’s supposed to look like. And if it doesn’t look like that, it’s not up to par, so we’ve got to get it to where it needs to be."

Have the Eagles reached out?

"Let’s just say that, with any and all jobs, I’m going to defer to my agent at this time. But it’s a process, and I’m very humbled to be in that conversation whether it’s with the Eagles or it’s with the other teams that are interested. I would just love to see the Eagles recapture that magic, and that’s probably the best I can say at this point."

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McDermott's obviously been successful since joining Carolina. The Panthers have had some really good defenses during his tenure. It's fair to question how much credit he deserves considering head coach Ron Rivera is a defensive minded guy. It's also fair to wonder how much interest the Eagles might have when part of the reason McDermott got fired is because he lost the support of his players.

It's certainly possible McDermott has improved since he left. For now, the Eagles don't seem to be interested.