Add two more names to the already somewhat long list of head coaching candidates that Jeffrey Lurie and his staff are officially interested in. Eagles Insider reported that the Eagles requested and were granted permission to interview Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Gus Bradley and Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians:
#Eagles have been granted permission to interview Seattle DC Gus Bradley and Colts OC Bruce Arians for the head coaching vacancy.—
Eagles Insider (@EaglesInsider) January 04, 2013
Bradley’s defense has been unreal this season.
Bradley is an interesting name that just recently came up on the Eagles’ public radar. Bradley hasn’t been interviewed by any other team, which is surprising because his Seahawks defense allowed a league-low 15.3 points per game and generate 31 turnovers. The Seattle secondary was especially good, intercepting more passes (18) than touchdowns allowed (15) while allowing a second-best 6.2 yards per attempt. The Eagles, by comparison, allowed 7.6 yards per attempt.
He is one of several defensively-minded candidates that has surfaced including Cincinnati’s Mike Zimmer, Arizona’s Ray Horton and Atlanta’s Mike Nolan, but had the best defense of them all.
Arians has been on the Eagles radar for some time, or at least was thought to be, so this news is just confirmation of what many people already thought. He’s shown an ability to develop quarterbacks, having developed Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, and Andrew Luck early in their respective careers, but what stood out this year was his ability to lead. Taking over a 1-2 team that was dealing with the diagnosis of cancer on their head coach Chuck Pagano, Arians led the team on a 9-3 run as interim head coach.
Considered by many to be one of the league’s brightest offensive minds, he is one of the favorites to land an NFL head coaching job. Arians, however, is also being pursued by the Chicago Bears who also were granted permission to interview him yesterday.
There has been no report on when these interviews will be conducted. The Eagles have already interviewed Mike Nolan and Bill O’Brien, and have other interviews scheduled with Mike McCoy, Chip Kelly, and Ben McAdoo among others.
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