John DeFilippo fired by Jaguars: Could Eagles bring back him to Philly?

The Jacksonville Jaguars have “mutually agreed to part ways” with offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, according to an official announcement from the team.

This news is obviously relevant to the Philadelphia Eagles since they have an offensive coordinator vacancy. Could Flip be the answer?!

It’s definitely worth consideration. Flip did a great job in his last year as the Eagles’ quarterbacks coach in 2017; Carson Wentz was playing at an MVP caliber level and Nick Foles won Super Bowl MVP.

But Flip’s shine has worn off since then. He was fired after just 13 games as the Minnesota Vikings’ offensive coordinator in 2018. Now he’s out of a job again after spending just one year with the Jags.

The Eagles might not be as eager to bring Flip back as one would imagine them to be. The team seemingly didn’t make a strong effort to bring him back after the Vikings fired him. Here’s what Doug Pederson had to say in December 2018 when asked if the Eagles had interest in re-hiring Flip:

“You know, I was anticipating this question. What I’ll say is John did a great job for me. He helped us win a world championship, and then he had an opportunity [to call plays for the Vikings]. I love my coaches, I’m confident in the guys we have, so, at this time, no.”

Of course, Mike Groh was still the Eagles’ offensive coordinator at the time. So it’s not like the Eagles had an opening like they do now.

Even if the Eagles do want Flip back, it remains to be seen if he wants to return. He knows he’ll never be calling plays in Philly since Doug Pederson handles those duties. But returning to Philly and having success with the Eagles could rehab his image after two straight dismissals.

The ideal situation could be for the Eagles to fire quarterbacks coach Press Taylor — who some believe has too much of a peer relationship with Wentz — and replace him with Flip. Flip was known for not being shy to challenge Wentz. But I don’t think this scenario is likely as I believe Taylor will remain in his current position.

The guess here is that the Eagles go in a different direction than hiring Flip as OC. I think the Eagles could be looking for an external addition after previously relying on familiarity to a fault. Along those lines, Jim Caldwell is reportedly drawing interest from the Eagles.