Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich is expected to become the next Indianapolis Colts head coach, according to the NFL Network.
Reich, 56, has been with the Eagles during the past two seasons as Doug Pederson's top assistant on offense. He would take the job that remained vacant after New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels backed out last week after reaching an agreement with the Colts. He was previously an assistant coach with the Colts from 2008-2011 and spent 13 years as an NFL quarterback.
Although Reich did not call plays for the Eagles, he had a big role in the offense. He helped create and install the system when Pederson arrived and was a key sounding board for Pederson. The two would meet for more than an hour on the night before games and go over the play sheet.
He also helped in the decision to draft Carson Wentz and in the development of the quarterbacks on the roster as part of the quarterback-focused coaching staff that the Eagles assembled in 2016. He also helped funnel information from Pederson to the position coaches and back to Pederson.
"As the role of offensive coordinator, that's what you do: you coordinate," Reich said. "You take all the great resources that you have as far as the staff and our head coach, and you pile your ideas together and then you've got to narrow them down and that's what we do. And we get a lot of good input from a lot of different ways, and that's fun. I mean, it's fun to work with the guys we work with and have the players that run those plays."
The Eagles already lost quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo on Saturday when DeFilippo was named Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator. Losing both Reich and DeFilippo would disrupt a coaching staff that helped the Eagles to the Super Bowl, although it's one of the consequences of success.
If the Eagles decide to replace Reich internally, running backs coach Duce Staley could be a candidate. Staley, a former Eagles running back, has been on the Eagles' coaching staff since 2011, including the past five years as running backs coach. The Eagles interviewed Staley for the head-coaching job after firing Chip Kelly.
