McNabb had already been to five Pro Bowls and had led the team to four NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl appearance. It would have been impossible for Reid to sell to the locker room that a second-year player in Kolb, who struggled mightily in the second half of that Baltimore game (10-of-23, 73 yards, 2 INT), gave the Eagles the best chance to win moving forward.

The opposite seems true here in 2020. Wentz is accomplished in this league and Hurts is a rookie, but given the wind that filled the team’s sails when Hurts was inserted into the lineup Sunday, and the at-sea-without-wind-or-paddle feel this team has had for almost the entire season, can Pederson look his team in the eye and say Wentz gives them the best chance against the Saints?

Likely not, which is why Hurts is the right choice in the here and now.

Longer-term, this still needs to be Wentz’s show because the Eagles are financially tied to him. McNabb shook off his benching and said his confidence wasn’t affected.

“No different than basketball or baseball. If you’re a little off, you keep shooting. That’s the way I feel about it,” McNabb said at the time.

It remains to be seen whether Wentz will respond with a similar mentality, or if his confidence will be further shaken by an extended absence from the starting lineup. There’s also his relationship with the organization to consider. While McNabb reacted well on the field, the benching stirred questions about his long-term standing with the team. He played only one more season in Philadelphia before being traded to Washington on Easter Sunday 2010.

There are longer-term risks involved in this Wentz-Hurts decision, but it was the right one in the interest of the 2020 Eagles and the men who take the field each week. It’s not the job of the coach to look too far beyond that.

1 Related

The fiery Williams, perhaps best known as a key figure in the New Orleans Saints’ “Bountygate” scandal in 2012, is known for his aggressiveness.

He pushed the limit on a third-down play, protecting a four-point lead. Instead of playing a soft zone, he dialed up a seven-man blitz that left rookie cornerback Lamar Jackson, an undrafted free agent, in man-to-man coverage with no safety help. He was torched by fellow rookie Henry Ruggs III, one of the fastest players in the league.

Safety Marcus Maye, also a captain, openly questioned Williams’ strategy in a postgame news conference. Gase said Maye’s comments didn’t factor into his decision, but Maye wasn’t alone. Other players didn’t agree with Williams’ call for an all-out blitz, sources said.

Gase second-guessed himself for not calling a timeout when he heard the call in the headset. But he noted that he never overruled one of Williams’ calls. Gase gave him autonomy to run the defense, saying, “I hired Gregg because I trusted him to make the right calls and run the defense.”

Still, Gase admitted, “I wish I would’ve called timeout, but I didn’t.”

The ill-fated blitz was a big reason why he fired Williams, but not the only reason. Williams’ defense was ranked 29th in yards allowed, blew three fourth-quarter leads and committed a league-high 11 penalties for roughing the passer. Williams also upset people in the organization in October when he took a veiled shot at the offense.

Williams became the first member of Gase’s coaching staff to be fired. Gase himself is on the hot seat and likely will be dismissed at the end of the season.

Gase didn’t address the move with the team as a whole, saying he spoke individually to a few players. Nose tackle Folorunso Fatukasi said, “Dang, we’re all kind of like … it’s hard to explain because we have a ton of respect for Gregg Williams. We know this a tough business, but we have to figure out a way to move on.”

Quarterback Sam Darnold declined comment, saying, “[we] didn’t know what to think of it. That’s something that’s above my pay grade, so I’m not going to necessarily sit here and talk about why he was let go.”

Gase said he’s not planning any other staff changes, which means defensive assistant Blake Williams, Gregg’s son, will remain.

Soon after being hired as the Jets’ coach in January 2019, Gase added Gregg Williams to his staff, an odd pairing because of their headstrong personalities. Many predicted the marriage would fail, especially when Gase hired his father-in-law, Joe Vitt, to coach the linebackers. Vitt and Williams were cast as enemies in Bountygate, when Vitt testified against Williams in hearings.

Things went relatively smoothly in 2019 with the Jets. Under Williams, the defense overachieved and finished seventh in yards allowed.

Before the 2020 training camp, Williams lost his two best players. All-Pro safety Jamal Adams was traded and former Pro Bowl linebacker C.J. Mosley opted out because of COVID-19 concerns. He lost two more starters during the season, as linebacker Avery Williamson and nose tackle Steve McLendon were dealt before the trade deadline.

Playing mostly inexperienced players, Williams’ defense struggled almost every week, including six 300-yard passing days.