The Eagles will look to the college ranks during their offensive coordinator search, with Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweeting USC OC Graham Harrell is set to interview for the job.
A former Texas Tech quarterback who spent time with the Packers and Jets in the 2010s, Harrell was the Trojans’ OC last season. He stepped into that role after Kliff Kingsbury abruptly left the position to become the Cardinals’ head coach.
Harrell is a Mike Leach disciple, playing in the pass-happy coach’s Air Raid offense in Lubbock, Texas, before following him to Washington State and serving as the Cougars’ wide receivers coach after his NFL career ended. Harrell, 34, spent three years as North Texas’ offensive coordinator before becoming USC’s OC in 2019. Kingsbury took that job in December 2018 but soon accepted the Cards’ job offer.
USC ranked 20th last season with 454 yards per game, improving significantly from its 382.6 average in 2018. This occurred after sophomore quarterback J.T. Daniels went down with a season-ending injury in Week 1, thrusting true freshman Kedon Slovis into the Trojans’ lineup. Harrell still stands as an unorthodox candidate, with his last connection to the NFL being as a reserve quarterback after going undrafted in 2009. He finished fourth in the 2008 Heisman voting, teaming with Michael Crabtree to lead Texas Tech to an 11-2 season as a senior.
The Eagles fired Mike Groh after two seasons on the job. They’ve been connected to Jim Caldwell and ex-Redskins OC Kevin O’Connell for the job. The Rams, however, hired O’Connell to be their OC. The Eagles also had Ravens QBs coach James Urban as a canidadate, but John Harbaugh confirmed Friday he took himself out of the running after interviewing for the job.
I mean…could be worse?
Yep. Could be Groh.
The last sentence could have been constructed better. Sounds like Urban was trying to be sneaky but John wasn’t having any of it. Maybe Urban finally realized he’s just there until Harbaugh Jr becomes available.