Billy

Davis

“I know you guys are tired of that answer,” Davis said. “I know you want to hear one or the other or something. What we’re doing here is we’re taking that wide-nine 4-3 and we’re moving in the direction of the 3-4, but where we stop is yet to be determined by the players we have.” Many teams operate with a multiple mindset, but everyone has a base defense. For the Eagles, there’s no question it will be a 3-4 under Davis and Chip Kelly.

Davis is playing his cards close to the vest, but it’s pretty clear the Eagles are shifting to a 3-4 base. They’ve hired both an inside and outside linebackers coach and Chip Kelly has confirmed he “prefers” a 3-4. Davis admitted that 15 of his 21 NFL seasons have been spent coaching an odd-man front. The Eagles have plenty of pieces that fit the new scheme nicely in DE Cullen Jenkins, ILBs DeMeco Ryans/Mychal Kendricks and rush linebackers Trent Cole/Brandon Graham.

After a long search for an aggressive proponent of the 3-4, the Eagles finally found their man. Prior to his two-year stint in Cleveland, Davis unsuccessfully coordinated the Cardinals’ defense from 2009-2010 and held the same position in San Francisco from 2005-06 before getting ousted. He’s been in the NFL as a defensive assistant since 1992, coaching the 3-4 scheme almost exclusively. In Philly, Davis will be charged with turning around a defense that ranked 30th in points allowed and tied for dead last in turnovers forced. It’s not the splashy defensive hire many expected when offensive guru Chip Kelly landed the head-coaching gig.

It goes without stating, really, that Davis obviously isn’t coming back now that new coach Doug Pederson has tabbed Jim Schwartz as the Eagles’ new defensive boss. Davis’ defenses were pretty ugly in his three years with Chip Kelly. The Eagles were 30th in total defense this season, finishing 28th against the pass and dead-last against the run. Davis could rejoin Kelly in San Francisco, but the 49ers are entertaining the idea of keeping DC Eric Mangini.