Report: Eagles deny Lions from interviewing special teams coordinator Dave Fipp

The Philadelphia Eagles blocked the Detroit Lions from interviewing special teams coordinator Dave Fipp, according to Dave Birkett from the Free Press.

The Lions are assembling a coaching staff under newly hired head coach Dan Campbell, who has ties to Fipp. Campbell and Fipp were both members of the Miami Dolphins in 2011 and 2012.

The Eagles blocking Fipp doesn’t necessarily guarantee he’ll be back with the team in 2021. It’s possible that they bring in a new head coach who has a different idea at special teams coordinator. But it seems like the Eagles want to at least maintain the option of keeping Fipp.

There’s certainly a case to be made the Eagles shouldn’t keep Fipp. Here’s a look at how his units have ranked in terms of special teams DVOA (which he has argued against as a great indicator):

2013 — 25th
2014 — 1st
2015 — 10th
2016 — 2nd
2017 — 16th
2018 — 15th
2019 — 19th
2020 — 22nd

Fipp had a good run earlier in his Eagles career but it feels like it’s been a long time since Philly’s special teams unit has been an actual strength. Rather, it was a weakness that contributed to losses during the 2020 season.

Kind of interesting to see that the Eagles might want to keep Fipp after it was previously leaked that Jeffrey Lurie was “underwhelmed” by Doug Pederson’s proposed coaching staff changes. Keeping Fipp was said to be part of Pederson’s plan.

If we’re reading into the Fipp development for clues about the Eagles’ next head coach, maybe this means Duce Staley is a likely candidate? He’s worked with Fipp since 2013. Or maybe Todd Bowles is a stronger contender than we realize? He overlapped with Fipp in Miami in 2011. Or maybe it has no bearing and the new head coach will look to replace Fipp. We’ll see.