The Philadelphia Eagles got blown out by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card Card of last year’s NFL playoffs – and veteran defensive end Brandon Graham believes the coaching staff was to blame
Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham has taken a swipe at last season’s coaching staff over inconsistencies and poor communication.
Graham, 36, believes the “little stuff” prevalent throughout the year was glaringly exposed “in a big way” during their crushing Wild Card Round defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The veteran defensive lineman is preparing for his 15th year with the Eagles and plans for 2024 to be his farewell tour final season.
That perhaps explains why the Super Bowl champion is not holding back on his thoughts about how last year concluded. The team also changed its defensive coordinator and defensive line coach this offseason. Clint Hurtt and DC Vic Fangio have replaced DC Matt Patricia and Tracy Rocker.
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Graham singled out Hurtt when discussing Philadelphia’s younger defensive lineman. “We’ve got a good coach in Clint,” Graham said during a press conference on Wednesday.
“I really think that last year we just didn’t… That’s what we didn’t have. We didn’t have all the right coaches in the right position.
The veteran went on to elaborate on what exactly was amiss. “You just noticed little stuff last year, certain stuff you weren’t on the same page about,” Graham said. “Just here and there, it would pop up, but it popped up in a big way in that last game (against the Buccaneers). It’s just, like, if (there’s) anything I learned, you always want to make sure that we just have the proper communication.”
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Graham explained: “So it’s real, big communication going on right now within the locker room, on the field, in the classrooms. I know (general manager) Howie (Roseman) was going to get it fixed because once you notice, you’ve just got to deal with it during the year. “That’s how it is.
“But I don’t see any of that at all. I’m more excited just because we have Fangio, somebody experienced, real, real good. I’m not saying anything about the past, but it was just more you can just tell that everybody’s on the same page about stuff.”
Graham also acknowledged that the incoming players are already buying into the team.
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“You could just see the guys just truly believing in what we’ve got going on,” Graham recalled, “and I’m excited for the young guys that just came in, the new rookies coming in. They’re really going to get a good shot and good taste of what it really is to be in the NFL.”
Fangio returns to Philadelphia after serving as a consultant during the 2022 season. The veteran coach hails from Pennsylvania, and still has relatives in the state, which is one of the main reasons why, after holding the position of defensive coordinator with the Miami Dolphins last term, both parties mutually agreed to part ways.
The incoming coordinator replaces Sean Desai, who previously worked under Fangio as a defensive assistant with the Chicago Bears.