Eagles Might Have A Head Coach In the Making With Strong Special Teams Work

The Philadelphia Eagles' sepcial teams units have made several big plays this season, including a big one in 16-9 win over the Detroit Lions.

Feb 9, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles special teams coordinator Michael Clay against the Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl LIX at Ceasars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA – Merrill Reese has said it before, and he’ll say it again if you ask – Michael Clay could someday be a head coach. The legendary voice of the Eagles saw it with John Harbaugh when the longtime head coach of the Baltimore Ravens began his professional coaching career as a special teams coordinator in Philly.

Still just 34, Clay is making a case. Personnel are always in flux on his special teams units, changing from season to season, even game to game, yet they have been consistently steady. This year, they have made some plays that have helped win games. Those plays include two blocked field goals in the same game against the Los Angeles Rams and a blocked punt against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In Sunday night’s 16-9 win over the Detroit Lions, Clay left his defense on the field on fourth-and-one after the Lions had sent their punt team onto the field. He was wise to the aggressive surprises Lions coach Dan Campbell and his special teams coordinator Dave Fipp, who spent eight years with the Eagles coaching special teams, like to pull.

“The amount of fakes that Detroit had ran since 2021 - I think it was at 12 at that point (so) jJust having kind of a sense what the game was going back and forth, kind of a defensive struggle, you always got to be prepared for that,” said Clay on Tuesday.

Moro Ojomo And Others Smothered Lions' Fake Punt

Nov 10, 2025; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Moro Ojomo (97) runs onto the field prior to the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

So, he left his defense on the field. When the Lions snapped the ball to upback Jahmyr Gibbs, the Eagles were ready. Moro Ojomo smothered the play, bursting in from the left, diving and grabbing Gibbs by the ankles. Gibbs went straight to the ground for no gain, and the Eagles, already leading 3-0, took over in Lions territory with just over 13 minutes to go in the second quarter.

“When we used to play Dallas, and Bones (John Fassel) was there, he ran a thousand fakes when he was with the Rams,” said Clay. “So, you always just go back, and you always know that's on your mind that they can try to steal possession. It's not just a one-man job, it's the whole organizational job to get us in the right spots.”

Clay gave credit to several members of his staff for making that stop happen, including Director of Football Operations/Pro Scout Ameena Soliman and Pro Scout Terrence Braxton. He said Soliman was on the road in Washington doing some advance scouting a week earlier and alerted him about the fake punt tendency, and Braxton did a good briefing on Monday.

Clay then got his unit together on Friday for a reminder.

“I usually get the entire team in here just to reiterate, 'Hey, they've ran this amount of fakes, not just at the midfield, but they ran it from the minus-21, the minus-22,’ and I thought it was an awesome job by Moro, JC (Jalen Carter), and Jalyx (Hunt) really kind of collapsing that pocket in right there," he said.

“So, kudos to all the intel we get prior to the game. Then the guys paying attention come Friday and just understanding the severity of the game.”

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