Eagles tight ends coach hired by Falcons

Eagles tight ends coach Justin Peelle won’t be returning to Philadelphia under new head coach Nick Sirianni in 2021. The Falcons officially announced Peelle will be joining Arthur Smith’s coaching staff as Atlanta’s new tight ends coach.

Peelle joined the Eagles as an assistant tight ends coach on Chip Kelly’s original staff back in 2013. He had the “assistant” title dropped upon being promoted in 2015. Doug Pederson then retained Peelle on his staff through 2020, making it a seven-year run in Philly.

Peelle oversaw notable success by Zach Ertz, Brent Celek, and Dallas Goedert during his time with the Eagles. This isn’t to suggest him leaving is some massive loss; tight ends coach seems like a relatively fungible spot to fill, especially when there’s a high talent level. But Peelle certainly deserves some credit for their development and he can take pride in one of his guys (Ertz) being the only player to catch a Super Bowl game-winning touchdown in franchise history.

Given his history with the Eagles, it wouldn’t have been a shock if they wanted to to keep him. But new head coaches often mean changes across the board. Peelle won’t be the only assistant moving elsewhere in 2021. There’s already buzz out there that Duce Staley is drawing interest from the Chicago Bears, for example.

As for who might replace Peelle, John McNulty might be a name to keep an eye on. He was the Chargers’ tight ends coach for two years while overlapping with Sirianni in San Diego and Los Angeles. McNulty is also a Northeast Pennsylvania native who attended Penn State.

Stay tuned to Bleeding Green Nation for more coaching staff updates.