Last week I listened to The Wooder Cooler’s fantastic podcast and Vince made a really interesting point. Regarding the Eagles’ coaching search, he commented on his desire to hire a coach that could help finish what Reid started, essentially stating the Eagles have a solid nucleus of players whose primes cannot be wasted in a long rebuilding phase.

This piqued my interests mostly because I heard my own sentiments in that statement. After years of trotting out receivers of the Thrash variety, the Eagles had a significant change in philosophy over the last few years when it came to offensive skill positions. I believed that change and influx of exciting young talent would push the Eagles over the top.

The Birds used a first-round pick on Jeremy Maclin and second-round picks on DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy. From the moment all three of these players stepped on the field, they belonged. Highlighted by long touchdowns and unprecedented ability, each made explosive plays and showed speed and athleticism that we had not seen in the Andy Reid era, and we only expected to improve from there.

Now, after Jackson’s fifth year and four years of McCoy and Maclin, do we still think this is a promising core that can bring us to the promise land? Should the Eagles try to quickly retool to win while these players are in their prime or would they be best served taking it slow and having a more thorough rebuilding process, focused on the long haul?

Let’s take a look.  Read the rest of this entry →