One of the greatest assistant coaches in Eagles history is staying put.
The Eagles and long-time offensive line and running game coach Jeff Stoutland have agreed to terms of a long-term contract extension.
The news was first reported by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and confirmed by NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark. Specifics of the deal aren’t yet available.
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According to Fowler, there was interest in Stoutland from other teams for offensive coordinator positions, but the Eagles moved to make sure he didn’t leave, even for a promotion.
Stoutland is 60, so while there’s no guarantees, this contract certainly seems to indicate that Stoutland will finish his coaching here with the Eagles.
“This guy loves football,” Nick Sirianni said last week. “Stout loves football. He's always here. He's always working. And he loves his guys, and he loves the guys on this team. It's not just the offensive linemen. I always see him talking to other players on this team because he knows how important it is to connect.
“But he does love his offensive line so much that he's willing to go -- and that's the whole point of everything we always talk about – he’s so willing to go the extra mile for them because he loves them and he doesn't want to let them down.
“That's the whole point when you have these relationships, Stout is the epitome of this. When you have these relationships, you go a little bit further than what you deemed possible. You go further than what you thought your limits could reach because you’re connected to the offensive line.”
The Staten Island native was offensive line coach at Syracuse from 1997 through 1998, and his first two years the quarterback was Donovan McNabb.
Stoutland is in his 10th year with the Eagles under his third head coach. He’s widely considered the best offensive line technician in the game, and the Eagles have had elite offensive lines virtually every year that he’s been here.
Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, Evan Mathis, Brandon Brooks and Jason Peters have made a total of 19 Pro Bowls under Stoutland. In the 50 years before Stoutland got here, all Eagles offensive linemen combined made 14 Pro Bowls.
Kelce, Johnson, Mathis and Peters have made a combined 10 all-pro first teams. All Eagles offensive linemen before Stoutland joined the Eagles made a total of 11 and only one since 1968.
It was Chip Kelly who first lured Stoutland to the NFL from Alabama when he replaced Andy Reid as Eagles head coach in 2013. Doug Pederson retained him and so did Sirianni.
The Eagles have been ranked in the top-5 in offense four times since Stoutland arrived here and 13th or better three other times.
This year’s o-line might be his best ever. They paved the way for the No. 3 offense in the league, and so far this postseason, the Eagles have steamrolled their way to 416 rushing yards and seven rushing TDs in wins over the Giants and 49ers. The Eagles face the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII a week from Sunday in Arizona.
“Stout’s hard to describe because, man, you can’t really fully comprehend it until you’re in there with him and being coached by him,” Kelce said earlier this year.
“Obviously, he’s extremely knowledgeable, experienced and strategic and able to build a game plan and something that’s conducive to the players. He tells us all week, ‘Everything I do is to try and put you guys in good positions to succeed,’ and he does a phenomenal job of that, and that’s one of his strengths.
“Then another one of his strengths is he’s an outstanding technician who understands how to hit run blocks, understands how to teach pass blocking and footwork and all of that.
“But I think probably his greatest strength is his intensity, his passion and his energy. I cannot believe (it.) Sometimes you’re in awe of how much energy he brings every … single … day. He just never stops coaching.
“Guys will joke about it, other coaches will joke about it, because it’s just so jaw dropping, the amount of endurance he has to coach people, and I think that’s why you see backups go in the game and play well. He just can’t help himself. It’s just kind of like he was made to be an offensive line coach.
“He gets the most out of every player who has ever played for him. And that's usually a mark of a pretty darn good coach.”