Robert Saleh won’t be the Eagles’ next head coach

The next Philadelphia Eagles head coach will NOT be Robert Saleh.

It’s the New York Jets who are instead hiring the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator to be their new boss. The team officially confirmed as much on Thursday evening.

This news is obviously relevant to the Eagles since Philly interviewed Saleh on Wednesday evening. Saleh was actually the most popular candidate among fans based on BGN’s polling from earlier today:

Alongside former Eagles vice president of player personnel and current Jets general manager Joe Douglas, Saleh will try to revive a franchise that currently owns the NFL’s longest playoff drought. The Jets haven’t been in the postseason since last playing in the 2010 AFC Championship Game.

Two more former Eagles angles to consider from the Saleh hiring:

1) Doug Pederson was previously linked to the Jets job but he won’t be landing there. It would’ve been especially interesting if he had since the Eagles might be playing the Jets in 2021.

2) Former Eagles linebacker DeMeco Ryans is reportedly expected to replace Saleh as the 49ers’ next DC. Pretty cool to see Mufasa working his way up the coaching ranks. He’ll likely be a head coach in the future.

Getting back to the Eagles’ coaching search, here’s a recap of where things stand:

REQUESTED INTERVIEWS

49ers DC Robert Saleh
Titans OC Arthur Smith
Buccaneers DC Todd Bowles
Patriots ILB coach Jerod Mayo
Eagles assistant head coach/RB coach Duce Staley
Panthers OC Joe Brady
Cowboys OC Kellen Moore

RUMORED INTEREST

Oklahoma HC Lincoln Riley
Chiefs QB coach/passing game coordinator Mike Kafka
Ohio State HC Ryan Day
Bills OC Brian Daboll

The Eagles are one of five teams remaining with a head coaching vacancy with the Jets hiring Saleh and the Jacksonville Jaguars landing Urban Meyer. The four others are: the Detroit Lions, the Atlanta Falcons, the Houston Texans, and the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Eagles reportedly interviewed Smith on Thursday evening so we’ll see what becomes of that. He’s set to meet with the Lions on Friday.

Stay tuned to BGN for more updates!