Former Eagles offensive line coach dies at 78

Former Philadelphia Eagles offensive line coach Howard Mudd died at the age of 78 on Wednesday, according to a report from The Athletic’s Zak Keefer. Mudd had been in a Seattle hospital for multiple weeks after being involved in a motorcycle accident.

It was a big deal when the Eagles lured Mudd out of retirement back in 2011; he was considered to be one of the greatest offensive line coaches in NFL history. It was also an ... interesting ... time because the Eagles moved former long-time offensive line coach Juan Castillo to defensive coordinator but that’s another story entirely.

Mudd remained with Philly through the 2012 season. He wasn’t retained on the coaching staff after Andy Reid and the Eagles parted ways. Jeff Stoutland was hired as Mudd’s replacement and has been with the team ever since.

Mudd re-retired after coaching with the Eagles but returned to the Indianapolis Colts as a senior offensive assistant on Frank Reich’s staff during the 2019 offseason. He finally retired for good in September 2019.

The height of Mudd’s coaching success came with Peyton Manning’s Colts from 1998 through 2009. He won a Super Bowl XLI with Indy in February 2007. Mudd also had a pretty good NFL playing career from 1964 through 1970 with the San Francisco 49ers and the Chicago Bears. He earned three Pro Bowl berths and two All-Pro honors before a knee injury forced him to retire ahead of his age 29 season.

Rest in peace, Howard Mudd.