When your quarterback is Nick Foles and he delivers the series of astonishing performances that marked his 2013 season, your quarterbacks coach is going to be in demand. That was indeed the case with the Philadelphia Eagles, who saw Bill Lazor depart the Birds to become the offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins.
After many reports, the Eagles confirmed on Monday that Bill Musgrave joined the team as its new quarterbacks coach. This is his second stint with the team. Musgrave previously served as offensive assistant with the team in 1998 before finishing the final 10 games of the season as offensive coordinator.
Since his original time with the Eagles, Musgrave has accumulated a wealth of experience around the NFL. Most recently he served as the offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings from 2011-13, where he helped guide RB Adrian Peterson, the league’s MVP in 2012. Prior to his time with the Vikings, Musgrave spent five seasons (2006-10) as the quarterbacks coach for the Atlanta Falcons, where he worked with Matt Ryan to set career highs in touchdowns (28), passer rating (91.0) and passing yards (3,705) in 2010 while guiding the team to their first NFC South title since 2004. He has also spent time on the coaching staffs of the Redskins, Jaguars, Panthers around the league, as well as the University of Virginia in the college ranks.
The Eagles also announced that Michael Clay joins the organization as the team’s defensive quality control coach. Clay was a former linebacker under Chip Kelly at the University of Oregon. A four-year letterman for the Ducks from 2009-12, Clay, 22, earned second-team All-Pac 12 honors as a senior after recording 101 tackles, three sacks and one forced fumble while starting all 12 contests. He was an unsigned with the Miami Dolphins in 2013 but ultimately did not make the team.
Mike Dawson was promoted to the assistant defensive line coach after the 2013 season as the team’s defensive quality control coach. Dawson helped the Eagles defense rank tied for third in the NFL in games holding their opponents to 21-or-fewer points after a rocky start to the season by the D.
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