QB coach rebuilt career from ground up with Eagles
MINNEAPOLIS — When John DeFilippo became the Jets’ assistant quarterbacks coach in 2009, it took him a few days to come to grips with where his career was.
For the previous two seasons, he had been the Raiders’ quarterbacks coach, working with No. 1 pick JaMarcus Russell. But after the staff was fired there, DeFilippo had to swallow his pride and take a low-level job with the Jets that was basically quality control.
Eight years later, DeFilippo is the Eagles’ quarterbacks coach as they face the Patriots in Super Bowl LII on Sunday.
“It was hard at first,” DeFilippo said. “It took some adjustment. It was truly a life lesson that I’ve taken with me. I gave myself three or four days to be … I don’t want to say disappointed because if you’re coaching in the NFL there’s no reason to be disappointed, but I took three or four days to adjust myself to my new role. After that, it was full speed ahead.”
DeFilippo spent just one season with the Jets, but in that time, he bonded with defensive coordinator Mike Pettine. Both were the sons of coaches, had grown up in Philadelphia and shared a love of cigars.
“You never know why you’re at a place,” DeFilippo said. “There was a reason I was with the Jets. I was there to meet Mike Pettine.”
Pettine gave DeFilippo his first offensive coordinator job in 2015 with the Browns, where he coached Johnny Manziel for a year before that team’s staff was fired. He then came to the Eagles, where he has mentored Carson Wentz and has gotten backup Nick Foles ready to play after Wentz’s season-ending injury in December.
The work DeFilippo has done in Philadelphia has not gone unnoticed. He is one of the hottest coaching candidates in the league. The Vikings reportedly are interested in interviewing him after the Super Bowl to replace new Giants coach Pat Shurmur as offensive coordinator. He also had head-coaching interviews with the Bears and Cardinals last month.
The Jets wanted DeFilippo to be their offensive coordinator last year, but the Eagles blocked him from interviewing since he still was under contract. Now, his contract is up, and he can go if he chooses.
“I’m going to have my opportunity to call plays again,” DeFilippo said. “I had my opportunity to call plays last year several places. Who knows what’s going to happen after Sunday?
“I’m in no rush to the leave the Eagles. If an opportunity presented itself, like a head-coaching job, then obviously you’ve [got] to take a look at it.“You just don’t leave the Eagles, being from Philadelphia, when you have a franchise quarterback that the whole building believes in, when you have a really good defense, a really good coaching staff, a head coach that you love working for and offensive coordinator that you love working with. There’s a lot of positives.”