Report: Eagles assistant leaving to become an offensive coordinator

As the Philadelphia Eagles search for a new offensive coordinator of their own, one of the team’s coaching assistants is leaving the organization to land an OC job elsewhere.

ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg reports Eagles offensive special projects coach G.J. Kinne is leaving Philly to serve as OC for the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. Kinne is reuniting with his former college coach at Tulsa, Todd Graham.

Kinne only joined the Eagles’ coaching staff last offseason. He previously spent one year as an offensive analyst for Arkansas in 2018 after starting out as a graduate assistant for SMU in 2017.

On one hand, losing Kinne is devastating because he’s a true Eagles legend. We should always cherish the time he spent on the roster as a quarterback/wide receiver/whichever position the team need him to line up at from 2013 through 2015.

Kinne’s Philadelphia career began back when the Eagles signed him during the 2013 offseason. Most figured he’d only be a camp arm, but in reality he was so much more than that. Kinne was willing to do anything that helped the team in practice. Whether that meant throwing a football, or lining up as a safety, or being a returner on special teams, or even converting his entire position from quarterback to wide receiver ... you name it, he did it.

It saddens me to say Kinne never made the regular season roster. But he did stay on the practice squad for a few seasons. And he served as that valuable, selfless player that went unnoticed behind the scenes. He helped the Eagles prepare for games in a stretch where they went 20-12 over two seasons.

When it comes to Kinne, I’m obviously biased in favor of him. But he’s given me good reason to act that way. He’s always taken these kind of posts I’ve written about him in stride. He really seems to appreciate them (at least, I hope he does).

We haven’t ever spoken in person, but I’d had a number of interactions with Kinne on Twitter. He was literally one of the first people to congratulate me on getting a new job [in 2016]. He didn’t need to do that. That just goes to show what kind of a cool, humble dude he is.

On the other hand, it’s great to see that a good guy like Kinne is rising up through the ranks. There’s no doubt in my mind that he deserves this opportunity.

And so here’s wishing Kinne the best in Hawaii. Maybe he can excel there and re-join the Eagles’ coaching staff as Philly’s offensive coordinator in the future. Or take over as head coach after Doug Pederson retires following his seventh Super Bowl win.

Good luck, G.J.!

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Hat tip to BGN reader @Eagles301.