Feb. 16, 2026
After 30 years under the ownership of Jeff Lurie, the Eagles still haven’t figured out that the worst way to pick the best people for key jobs is to hire a friend.
That little nugget of wisdom struck me a few days ago when new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion brought in an old pal, Chris Kuper, to replace the legendary Jeff Stoutland as the new line coach.
Mannion, who has no track record of success as a coach himself, worked together in Minnesota for two seasons during the new OC’s playing career. Kuper coached the Vikings offensive line when Mannion was a backup quarterback.
They know each other. They like each other. They are friends. Ugh.
Based on what just unfolded when head coach Nick Sirianni and former OC Kevin Patullo combined their frat-boy forces to destroy the 2025 season, the last thing you would expect this offseason is that the Eagles would use the same playbook for a critical new hire.
The irrefutable fact is, Stoutland was the best position coach in Eagles history. Over the last dozen seasons, his line has ranked among the top five in the NFL eight times. Even this season, riddled with injuries, the unit finished the season as the seventh best.
How did Kuper’s line compare?
It didn’t.
Before his inevitable firing at the end of the season, Kuper’s offensive line gave up the second-most sacks (60) in the NFL, ranking 18th overall. The season before? Also 18th.
In Minnesota, the reaction among fans was one of amusement bordering on joy. The best quote was that Kuper somehow managed to “fail upward,” moving to a better team with better blockers despite his lousy performance with the Vikings.
The only thing that will definitely not be better next season is the Eagles offensive line. Moving from Stoutland to Kuper is like trading in a Rolls Royce for a jalopy.
How could this happen?
Only one reason.
Friendship.
Mannion is comfortable working with Kuper. Therefore, the new OC saw no need for a long search to find the coach who actually best fits the situation. Of course, this is exactly what happened last season when Kellen Moore left and Sirianni’s best buddy, Patullo, got the promotion.
It is also the reason Brian Johnson received an ill-fated job upgrade after Shane Steichen got the Indianapolis head coaching position. And yes, it’s why Sean Desai – another disaster – was promoted to defensive coordinator after Jonathan Gannon’s welcome exit.
I have never run a business, but I have seen enough in my 50-plus years in the media to know that often the worst choice is the most comfortable.
After Tom Brookshier retired at WIP, I ended up with Al Morganti and Tony Bruno as new partners. I had never even met Tony, but his track record on radio was impeccable. I started on radio with Al, but he got the job only after we had exhausted many other possibilities.
Listeners won’t remember – nor should they – that we tried out, on the air, several other hosts – including a radio legend, Joey Reynolds – before we landed on Al and Tony.
And Al would probably be the first to tell you we have always been acquaintances, but never close friends. Al has better taste in friends than that.
You would think the master of the Eagles domain, owner Jeff Lurie, would have absorbed the perils of toxic friendships with his own childhood pal, Joe Banner, who took over as Eagles president after Lurie bought the team.
When Banner, as divisive a force in Philadelphia sports as any in the past three decades, parted ways with his longtime pal in 2012 after 18 years of pompous, off-putting leadership, it was a seismic shock to most fans. To this day, there has been no public explanation for the split.
What we can say for sure is, under Banner, the Eagles won zero championships. None. Nada. Zilch.
And yet, despite that awkward rift within his own sports family, Lurie and his organization continue to find new friends to reward with jobs they don’t deserve. The answer should be obvious by now. They are prioritizing comfort over success.
It won’t work because it almost never does.
Chris Kuper was not the best choice to replace Jeff Stoutland. Based on his failure in Minnesota, he should have not even been a candidate for the job.
Eagles fans will be reminded of this sad fact every time Jalen Hurts is slammed to the ground after a sack next season. They will immediately lament the hiring of the latest friend. They will boo until they’re hoarse, because they have lived this nightmare many times before.
Will the Eagles ever learn the same lesson?
OK, I give up. Why did the Miami Dolphins rescue Kevin Patullo from his self-imposed hell by hiring him as the passing-game coordinator last week?
I have searched everywhere to find the friendship connection that led new head coach Jeff Hafley to reach out to the worst offensive coordinator in Eagles history. I have found nothing.
The closest I could come was their shared northern New Jersey roots. Patullo will be working for OC Bobby Slowick, who lost out after interviewing for the Eagles OC position last season. Maybe they bumped into each other last winter at the NovaCare Complex. Maybe they shared an elbow-joint high five.
Who knows?
There’s no other reason I can find for a team hiring the man who stood on the sideline, deciding the final play of his OC career here, and dialed up one of the dumbest calls imaginable.
Four receivers ran straight down the field. No tricks. No deception. No chance for success.
Remember when we were told how imaginative and creative Patullo would be? We know better now. Did this news somehow never reach Miami?
After days of investigation, I conclude that the Dolphins’ hiring Patullo is temporary insanity. There’s no other logical reason.
Imagine for a moment that you have saved up all season to take your 10-year-old child to his/her first NBA game. You picked a division rivalry for this big event – Knicks vs. Sixers, Feb. 11, Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Between the tickets and parking, you’re out at least $300 before you enter the building, and that’s if only you and the kid are going. Then there’s food, drink and maybe a trinket to remember the occasion. Say goodbye to, what, $500 for the night? (You can double that if it’s a family of four.)
On the way to the game, you learn that one of the main attractions, Joel Embiid, won’t be playing. The reason? The same “right knee soreness” he has been reporting for years now. They waited until an hour before the game to announce the bad news.
Ex-Sixer coach Doc Rivers had a name for games like this. He called them “scheduled losses.” The Knicks were ahead by 30 at the half, 52 at the height of the onslaught, and ultimately demolished the home team, 138-89.
Does anybody in the NBA care about this consumer fraud? Does anybody on the Sixers worry that a rip-off like this could affect future attendance? Does billionaire owner Joshua Harris stress, for even a second, that he bilked the people who care the most about his team?
No, no, and no.
None of them gives a damn.
And that’s why I don’t give a damn anymore, either.