The topic was Jeff Stoutland, and once Jason Kelce got started he had a hard time stopping.
We all know Stoutland is a genius. We all know he’s quite possibly the greatest position coach in Eagles history and one of the best offensive line coaches the NFL has ever seen.
But Kelce took several minutes Wednesday to try and explain why.
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Kelce played three seasons in the NFL but never made a Pro Bowl or all-pro team until Chip Kelly brought in Stoutland to coach the Eagles’ offensive linemen in 2013. Since then, Kelce has made five Pro Bowls and four all-pro teams and is most likely headed to the Hall of Fame.
Kelce, Lane Johnson, Evan Mathis, Brandon Brooks, Jason Peters have made a total of 17 Pro Bowls under Stoutland.
In the 50 years before Stoutland got here, all Eagles offensive linemen combined made 14 Pro Bowls.
NFL
He’s the best.
“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,” he said. “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.
“‘The hungry dogs run faster,’ like all the little quotes? He doesn't even need to say them, he just lives them. When you're in the meeting room with him, you better be (mentally) there because if you're not there, he's going to ask you a question cold calling. It's like his signature, he's gonna just spot up, and if you don't have (the answer) on your tongue ready to go, he's going to be ripping you, and I think 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.”
Stoutland was actually a linebacker when he played college football for Kevin Gilbride at Southern Connecticut State. He first coached offensive line at Cornell in 1993 and continued at Syracuse in the late 1990s, when the Orangemen’s quarterback was Donovan McNabb.
He had stints coaching o-line at Michigan State, Miami and Alabama before Kelly brought him to Philly.
He was here for three years under Chip and five years under Doug Pederson and he’s now in his second year with Nick Sirianni.
Other than one game as Miami’s interim coach for the 2010 Hyundai Sun Bowl after Randy Shannon was fired, he’s never been a head coach.
Kelce was asked Wednesday if Stoutland would make a good head coach, and his answer should be required reading for any owner looking for one.
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“I think he could be. A lot goes into being a successful head coach, but I think the most important thing in my mind as a head coach is you're the leader of the whole group, you're the manager of the whole team. It's your job to get the most out of everyone, coaches, players, and to facilitate that environment. I think Nick Sirianni does a tremendous job of this, but I think Jeff Stoutland would do a great job of that too.
“I think that sometimes organizations go wrong, they want to hire the next offensive genius, the next defensive genius. That's great, those guys make great coordinators. But, the offensive schemers and defensive schemers are not rare, in my opinion.
“The guys that are rare are the Pete Carrolls, the Belichicks, the (Andy) Reids, those guys. I mean Andy Reid used to sleep in this building. The guys that hold everyone to the standard and they live it themselves and they get the most out of their players and their coaches, those are the guys who end up having careers that last longer than a system that kind of dries up.
“So yeah, I think he’d be a great head coach.”