Curious Decision to Hire Marty Mornhinweg

Some things I think (free agency edition) …

This is a big year for Eagles head coach Doug Pederson.

The Eagles have made that abundantly clear by bringing in Marty Mornhinweg. I say the Eagles because I’m not so sure this was Pederson’s decision.

That it came a week after he announced his many hires is curious. That it was the 57-year-old Mornhinweg, who has been involved in coaching since 1985, is even curiouser still.

Pederson is on record as saying he picks his own coaches. Most recently, he said as much at last month’s NFL Scouting Combine.

“This is one of the things I appreciate about (owner) Jeffery (Lurie) and (general manager) Howie (Roseman),” said Pederson. “They give me total control over the staff. Are they interested and do they talk to me about certain guys and do they want to talk to candidates?

“Sure, they do. It just behooves them to have all the information on guys I bring into the building. But they give me that control to make these decisions. I have make some tough ones, but at the same time, I feel like I made some really good hires this spring.”

Then along came Mornhinweg, with his fresh set of eyes and outside influences.

It almost feels like Lurie and maybe Roseman wanted more guidance for Pederson, whose offense looked stagnant at times last year.

It feels like a situation similar to when the Eagles hired defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz just one day after hiring Pederson, as if that hire had already been in place and wasn’t Pederson’s decision at all.

Either way, Pederson cannot afford a slow start to the season and hope to finish strong. That has happened on both seasons since winning the Super Bowl.

Had the Eagles not righted the ship and won their last four games, Pederson would be on thinner ice than he might be right now.

His contract runs through 2022, but if the Eagles miss the playoffs this season, he may not see those final two years.

With the panic surrounding the coronavirus, I would not be surprised if the NFL cancelled its owners’ meetings, scheduled for March 29-April 1 in Palm Beach, Fla.

I am waiting to book my flight, taking a wait-and-see approach.

The average age of NFL owners is probably around 70, which is the age group that is the most susceptible to the virus.

As of now, the NFL is still full steam ahead with the meetings. How the next week or two plays out, obviously, will be very important.

The Eagles will come out of the free agent gate with a splash and something tells me it won’t be for cornerback Byron Jones, but a trade for defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. Yes, say good-bye to the Eagles first-round pick this April and one of their three forth-rounders, too. Maybe even a third-rounder next year.

Is that enough? Too much?

I can’t say for sure, but Ngakoue wants out, even if the Jacksonville Jaguars slap the franchise tag on him, chances are he won’t sign it.

Remember in 2009 when the Eagles sent their first-round pick in that year’s draft, No. 28 overall, and a fourth-round pick (No. 121 overall) and a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2010 draft to the Buffalo Bills for Jason Peters?

That tuned out great. Peters gave the Eagles 11 Hall of Fame seasons.

Ngakoue is just 24 and he could give the Eagles 11 Hall of Fame season.

So maybe the Eagles don’t do it. I would, though.

Tom Brady is leaving the New England Patriots. He is the biggest free agent since the system was put in place in 1993.

Brady has proven just about everything he as a quarterback and is a first-ballot Hall of Fame selection. The one thing he still has to prove, though, is that he can a Super Bowl without coach Bill Belichick.

It is a question that has dogged him and will continue to dog him: Who gets most of the credit for the Patriots’ run of six Super Bowls, Brady or Belichick?

Go win one without the coach and the answer might become clear, if only slightly so.