The Philadelphia Eagles have long been one of the top organizations in the NFL, and they’ll now be looking to win their second championship in six seasons when they play in Super Bowl LVII this Sunday. The Eagles will be facing their former head coach Andy Reid, who had a ton of success in Philadelphia and helped the franchise become one of the winningest in the league since the turn of the century. But there’s someone that’s been a common thread after Reid’s firing in 2012, and the assistant coach is arguably the primary driving force in Philadelphia’s success over the past decade.
Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland has been with the Eagles since 2013, overseeing what’s been on average the NFL’s top offensive line during that span. The primary component of Philly’s success—from Chip Kelly (who, despite some loud criticism certainly had success and went 10-6 in two of his three years as the team’s head coach) to Doug Pederson to Nick Sirianni—has arguably been anchored by Stoutland, All-Pro center Jason Kelce, and All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson (Kelly’s first draft pick in 2013).
If you have an elite offensive line, you are going to win games. The 2022 Eagles are a prime example of that with the way they have been able to run the ball and protect star quarterback Jalen Hurts as a passer. Including the playoffs, they’ve run for the most touchdowns in a season in NFL history, which has obviously been a huge part of their success en route to another Super Bowl appearance. They’ve been nearly unstoppable at times this season thanks to the offensive line dominance.
In Stoutland’s first season as the offensive line coach in 2013, LeSean McCoy led the NFL with 1,607 rushing yards, shattering the single-season franchise record. The team went from 4-12 the season before to 10-6 and a division title. Stoutland’s unit opening gaping holes in one of the NFL’s most innovative offenses played a massive role in that—and it’s continued since then.
The offensive line has played at an extremely high level over the past ten seasons under Stoutland, with 2015—when the group was simply too thin at guard, which caused the issues with the team and the eventual firing of Chip Kelly—as an exception.
In the 2018 championship run for the Eagles, they had to turn to backup quarterback Nick Foles after Carson Wentz’s season-ending knee injury. Foles had notable success working in Kelly’s offense during his first stint with the team, including the fantastic 27/2 TD:INT campaign in 2013. The solution with a backup quarterback (granted, the top backup in the league) and a championship opportunity? Make things more comfortable for Foles, an effort Stoutland was a key factor in.
Doug Pederson’s staff included a few former Kelly assistants, including Stoutland, Press Taylor (brother of Bengals head coach Zac Taylor), and Duce Staley (who started under Reid). They spearheaded the effort to implement run-pass options that were more common to the college game at the time. The RPOs paired with a powerful rushing attack led to sensational results, capped by the Eagles scoring 41 points on Bill Belichick’s defense in Super Bowl LII.
The run was sparked by Stoutland’s work with the run game and RPOs—and by Pederson, who has proven to be one of the top coaches in the league, for being open to doing whatever works and had no trouble giving some credit to his predecessor Kelly (which says a lot about Pederson, as some people might be too arrogant or too insecure to do something like that).
Eagles fans can thank Kelly for bringing in Stoutland—he had never coached in the NFL until Kelly plucked him from Alabama—and helping retain him through all three of his seasons in Philadelphia when he undoubtedly could have left for another franchise. And give the Eagles organization credit for finding a way to keep Stoutland under contract when he easily could have left with Kelly to go to the 49ers in 2016. They denied San Francisco permission to interview Stoutland, and there would probably be no Super Bowl without that move.
(Because how much criticism he gets in Philadelphia, I should also mention that Kelly deserves credit for beginning the teardown of a roster that wasn’t getting it done, setting the foundation for the Super Bowl just a couple of seasons after he was fired. And for having two strong drafts—the poor 2014 is on the record as not being his—to select championship contributors Lane Johnson, Zach Ertz, and Nelson Agholor, along with two other difference-makers in Jordan Hicks—injured during the Super Bowl season—and Eric Rowe, who was a key part of a Patriots’ Super Bowl. Kelly is actually getting some recognition as of late, which is good to see because his fingerprints really have been on the franchise due in large part to Stoutland remaining.)
Stoutland—who was also named the run-game coordinator for Philadelphia the offseason following the Super Bowl win after playing such an instrumental role in the championship—just finds a way to work magic. Left tackle Jordan Mailata is a former Australian rugby player that Stoutland strongly believed was a special talent. Mailata has gone from seventh-round pick to a great blindside protector after working with Stoutland over the years. Mailata even announces his school as “Jeff Stoutland University” for NBC games.
Now, with an exceptional starting unit of Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Jason Kelce, Isaac Seumalo, and Lane Johnson, the Eagles are on the cusp of another title. There’s no reason to believe they’ll slow down with resources put into the offensive line paired with Stoutland coaching them up. Whatever Stoutland is paid—and he was just given a contract extension despite OC interest around the league—it’s probably not enough.
I believe Kelce is a Hall of Fame lock. Team owner Jeffrey Lurie should probably get consideration if Philadelphia wins another championship this Sunday—or more in the future. Stoutland isn’t likely to be inducted into Canton as an offensive line coach. But he’s the main thread in Philadelphia reaching new heights and should be considered a first-ballot Hall of Famer in Eagles fans’ books.