The Eagles are currently on the search for his or her next offensive coordinator after parting ways with Kevin Patullo following his first yr within the role. They’ve spread their search pretty far and wide with over nine interviews requested to this point, nevertheless it seems their reach fell just short in a single rival city. In response to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Philadelphia requested to interview Cowboys offensive coordinator Klayton Adams for a similar role with the Eagles but saw their request blocked by Dallas.
It’s true that teams are allowed to dam other teams from hiring away coaches under contract with them in what can be a lateral move elsewhere. It’s fairly common and fully justifiable. There’s a slight change in considering sometimes, though, in the case of the responsibility of calling plays. While Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer and Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni each come from offensive backgrounds, Schottenheimer calls the offensive plays in Dallas, while Sirianni trusts that role to his offensive coordinator.
Typically, if an offensive coordinator currently serves under a head coach who calls plays for the offense, it is just not necessarily considered a lateral move to interview for a job elsewhere by which they might have the chance to call plays. The organization often allows for interviews like that to occur. As an example, Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher (under play-calling head coach Zac Taylor) was permitted to interview with the Buccaneers, where defensive-minded Todd Bowles serves as head coach. In Tennessee, Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich (under play-calling head coach Matt LaFleur) was permitted to interview with the Titans, under defensive-minded Robert Saleh.
The Eagles also requested interviews with current coordinators on the Colts and Bears, knowing that Shane Steichen and Ben Johnson each call the offensive plays for his or her respective teams. Each requests were reportedly granted, so Philadelphia should soon find a way to schedule their eighth and ninth interviews for the offensive coordinator position. Of all of the teams not replacing head coaches who saw requests to interview their offensive coordinator who currently doesn’t get to call plays, the Cowboys are the one team to have blocked the requested interview.
Now, this may very well be plainly on account of a fierce divisional rivalry, with strategy scary a “hands off” response. The opposite possibility is that the Cowboys truly value Adams and what he brings to an offense that finished with the second-most yards gained within the NFL and the seventh-most points scored. Surely, sooner or later in his profession, Adams will need to earn his wings as an offensive coordinator sooner or later with the chance to call plays, but as someone who has spent most of his profession coaching tight ends and offensive line and has never called plays before, he may not quite be ready for that role.
So, for now, Adams will proceed to work in his role for the Cowboys with Schottenheimer calling plays for certainly one of the league’s most potent offenses. The Eagles can have to proceed searching elsewhere for his or her next offensive coordinator and play caller.