Reuben Frank asked Doug Pederson about how he’s feeling in terms of his team’s safety as Eagles training camp gets underway.
NFL teams have always had depth charts for their players.
This may be the first time in history that NFL teams will need a depth chart for their coaches as well.
As Eagles training camp gets underway Tuesday amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, head coach Doug Pederson acknowledged that he has to prepare for the possibility of not only losing players to the virus but also losing coaches.
“I’ve thought about that quite a bit,” Pederson said. “We have to have a plan for everything.”
What we’ve seen with the Marlins over the past couple days gives us an idea of the kind of thing NFL teams have to prepare for.
What if a few assistant coaches test positive the day before a game? They won’t be allowed in the stadium on game day. They won’t be able to coach.
That's where the backup coaches come into play. They'll have to be ready.
NFL
Pederson said he believes the resilience the Eagles have shown dealing with an extreme number of injuries over the past three years will serve the team well if it loses players or coaches.
"One of the things that we've been faced with — and I think we've done a really good job here — is we've overcome some of the injuries we've had the last couple of seasons,” he said. “We've coached that next guy or that next player has been able to go in and perform at a high level. But now I think that has to carry over to the coaching staff.
“I think there has to be a plan in place for any coach or any staff member that may miss a couple days or a couple weeks because of the virus.”
The Eagles do have assistant position coaches for most positions, but the problem is those assistants would generally be in close proximity to the primary position coaches throughout the day at practice and in meetings. So if your tight ends coach comes down with the virus, it wouldn’t be surprising if your assistant tight ends coach did as well.
Pederson could try to take measures to keep those coaches separate, but that seems almost impossible.
What if Pederson himself was unavailable? Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz would likely be the interim head coach, although Marty Mornhinweg — like Schwartz — is a former Lions head coach.
For the record, here is what the Eagles’ assistant coach depth chart might look like:
HEAD COACH
First Team: Doug Pederson [HC]
Second Team: Jim Schwartz [DC]
RUNNING BACKS
First Team: Duce Staley [assistant HC/ RB]
Second Team: T.J. Paganetti [assistant run game coordinator / assistant RB]
WIDE RECEIVERS
First Team: Aaron Moorehead [WR]
Second Team: Matthew Harper [assistant WR]
TIGHT ENDS
First Team: Justin Peelle [TE]
Second Team: Mike Bartrum [assistant TE]
OFFENSIVE LINE
First Team: Jeff Stoutland [OL]
Second Team: Roy Istvan [assistant OL]
QUARTERBACKS
First Team: Press Taylor [passing game coordinator / QBs]
Second Team: Marty Mornhinweg [senior offensive consultant, former Eagles OC]
SENIOR OFFENSIVE ASSISTANT
First Team: Rich Scangarello [senior offensive assistant]
Second Team: Andrew Breiner [pass game analyst]
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
First Team: Jim Schwartz [defensive coordinator]
Second Team: Matt Burke [run defense game coordinator / defensive line]
DEFENSIVE LINE
First Team: Matt Burke [run defense game coordinator / DL]
Second Team: Nathan Ollie [assistant DL]
LINEBACKERS
First Team: Ken Flajole [LBs]
Second Team: Ryan Paganetti [assistant LBs / game management]
CORNERBACKS
First Team: Marquand Manuel [DBs]
Second Team: Dino Vasso [assistant coordinator defense, former assistant DBs]
SAFETIES
First Team: Tim Hauck [S]
Second Team: Dino Vasso [assistant coordinator defense, former assistant DBs]
SPECIAL TEAMS
First Team: Dave Fipp [ST]
Second Team: Luke Thompson [assistant ST]
Additionally, Joe Annunzio, who holds the title of director of team development, has coached tight ends, running backs and special teams on the NCAA Division 1 level, and coaching assistant Nick Williams coached wide receivers and running backs in Division 2.
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