The Billy Davis Baroo

(Let's face it, this clip is far more fun than looking at a coach.)

So the Eagles have finally (finally! they've gone without this guy for so many non-games!) hired a defensive coordinator, and short of hiring back Juan Castillo, it seems like Eagle fan couldn't be more outraged. Davis' last gig was linebacker coach in Cleveland, this will be his 8th franchise, and the two previous times that he's had the DC job, the Niners and Cardinals were no great shakes defensively. For the mouth breathers frothing in rage over how this ends the Chip Kelly Honeymoon (there was a Chip Kelly honeymoon?), the Eagles have missed a tremendous opportunity to finally get the hardcore coach they need to finally reclaim their heritage as a balls to the wall defensive unit.

At this point in the proceedings, if you are very very upset, might I suggest a brisk walk? Perhaps a warm bath. Maybe some dusting. I find that shining the wood (ooh, that sounds dirty) can be awfully satisfying, really. Now, back to Davis.

I'm not an Eagles apologist, as regular readers of the blog are very aware. But it's still hard to see why Davis should be given the cold shoulder from Day One. Sure, by the numbers, those Niner and Cardinals teams were not good on defense... but they also had godawful offenses that put them in terrible situations, and Davis was skilled enough to stay with the Cardinals for their Super Bowl run. And while nothing about the Browns screams out that you should be raiding the coaching staff like Vikings in mid-pillage, I say more than a few minutes of Browns Football in 2012. The defense was surprisingly feisty. Ask the Steelers.

Next, the complaint that if Davis were any good, this wouldn't be Franchise 8 for him. Well, perhaps... but I'm going to be candid with you, given how long he's been around (Davis has been a coach for 20+ years and is in his late '40s), that doesn't phase me in the least. The NFL is basically a business of burn and turn start ups, and Davis has done what any competitor would do -- keep trying to go up the ladder, make more money, and go for more responsibility. I've held 7 jobs myself since the birth of the Shooter Eldest, and she's not even a teenager yet. Things happen.

Finally, there's this. If you want to be a joyless tout, rain ire on every coaching hire. You'll be right just under 97% of the time, since only one out of 32 teams is going to win. And if you really think that the Eagles are ever going to have a defense like the days of lore, when the safeties murdered people and run plays were historically ineffective...

Well, stop watching the NFL, because the league doesn't allow defenses to play like that any more. And yes, I miss those days, too.

Oh, and one last thing.

Who, exactly, were the Eagles supposed to hire instead?

(Me, I wanted Gus Bradley. But he decided to be the HC in Jacksonville instead. And I get that people have fond memories of Steve Spagnuolo, but it's not like his Saints team wasn't horrific this year...)