The Wizard of Stout Makes Sure the Next Man up is Ready to Play
PHILADELPHIA –No yellow brick road is needed to find the wizard pulling the levers for the Eagles’ offensive line.
That would be Jeff Stoutland, or, if you prefer, The Wizard of Stout.
He has his linemen ready, and not just the starting five. Anyone on the roster and practice squad is tutored by the line coach. Perhaps it was a lesson learned back in 2020 when the Eagles had to use 14 different configurations along their starting line.
Of all the turmoil that popped up in that 4-11-1 season, certainly injuries were part of it.
“Two years ago we had eight offensive linemen go on IR,” said Stoutland last month. “That’s unbelievable. So that’s in the back of my head. We have to make sure we have plan A, plan B, plan C, and we’re ready to go.”
Jordan Mailata
The Eagles lost two starting linemen in the 29-21 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday yet they didn’t skip a beat, paving the way for 210 yards on the ground and a career-high 134 yards rushing from Miles Sanders.
They will probably be short-handed again in Arizona on Sunday when they play the Cardinals at 4:25 on FOX.
Left tackle Jordan Mailata was ruled out Saturday with a shoulder injury and right guard Isaac Seumalo, while expected to be full-go, has to be monitored for a recurrence of an ankle injury he suffered in the fourth quarter last week.
Stoutland, though, makes sure the offense doesn’t have to change whoever steps in.
Center Jason Kelce has been around Stoutland pretty much his whole career. Kelce came in 2011; Stoutland was brought in from the University of Alabama by former coach Chip Kelly in 2013.
Kelce said Stoutland was born to coach and his energy level, each and every day, each and every practice, heck, each and every practice snap, is infectious.
“Sometimes you’re in awe of how much energy he brings every single day,” said Kelce. “He just never stops coaching. Guys will joke about it, other coaches will joke about it, because it’s just so like jaw-dropping the amount of endurance he has to coach people.
“I think that’s why you see backups go in the game and play well. He just can’t help himself. He was made to be an offensive line coach.”
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Jordan Mailata remembered the first day he met Stoutland prior to the 2018 draft, a rugby player trying to become an NFL tackle when asked about his coach on Thursday.
Stoutland was supposed to go golfing with some buddies from his hometown of Pottsville but got a call from GM Howie Roseman telling him to go to Florida to work out the 6-8, 380-pound Mailata.
“I thought, ‘Oh, he looks like a kind, nice man,’ Mailata said when asked of his first impression, “and he shook my hand, broke my hand, then just his antics, ‘I missed my golfing trip to come down here and work you out, so you better work out… so you better (bleeping) give everything you got.’ I was like, ‘Yes, sir.’”
With Stoutland in the house, the worry shouldn’t be as great when a lineman goes down.
There is depth and he makes sure it’s ready.
Kelce was asked if Stoutland, 61, would make a good head coach. It’s not likely, to happen, but offensive line coaches have taken that step in previous years.
“I think sometimes that’s where organizations go wrong,” said the center. “They want to hire the next offensive genius, the next defensive genius, that’s great those guys make great coordinators, but the offensive schemers and defensive schemers are not rare in my opinion.
“The guys that are rare are the Pete Carrolls, the Belichicks, the Reids. Andy Reid used to sleep in this building. The guys that hold everyone to the standard and they live it themselves get the most out of their players and their coaches, those are the guys who end up having a career that lasts longer than a system. I think he would be a great head coach.”
Right now, all he has to do is make sure the next man who has to step up on the O-line is ready to play.
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
