Report: Eagles were “really impressed” with Arthur Smith

The Philadelphia Eagles interviewed Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith for their head coaching vacancy on Thursday evening.

And the Eagles were “really impressed” with Smith, according to Derrick Gunn.

It’s probably more meaningful that this report is coming from a plugged-in local guy like Gunn as opposed to a national reporter. The latter source likely would’ve originated from an agent trying to make his client more marketable. That Gunn is reporting this about Smith makes me believe the Eagles are truly impressed.

Here’s what we previously wrote about Smith:

The 38-year-old has an interesting background.

He joined the Tennessee Titans as a defensive quality control coach under Mike Munchak’s original staff in 2011. From there, he survived multiple head coach changes (Ken Whisenhunt and Mike Mularkey) and gradually rose to replacing current Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur as the Titans’ play-calling offensive coordinator under Mike Vrabel in 2019.

Here’s how Smith’s offenses have ranked in DVOA:

2019 — 6th
2020 — 4th

Smith has overseen the unexpected resurgence of Ryan Tannehill’s career and perhaps the Eagles think he can be the one to help fix Carson Wentz. There is some question about how Smith will fare without the presence of a truly remarkable rushing talent in Derrick Henry.

As I said on the latest BGN Radio podcast episode, though, I don’t think it’s like Smith necessarily needs an elite workhorse running back in order to succeed. The presumption here is that he’s merely been coaching to his team’s strengths, which is what good coaches do!

If the Eagles truly want Smith, they might have to act fast. He’s already interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons twice and he’s set to meet with the Detroit Lions on Friday. He previously interviewed with the Los Angeles Chargers.