The news that the Eagles blocked quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo from interviewing for the offensive coordinator position with the Jets wasn’t surprising. Teams have the right to prevent assistant coaches under contract from leaving for any job except head coach. The story behind the story definitely raises eyebrows.
Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the decision to block DeFilippo came a year after coach Doug Pederson and executive V.P. of football operations Howie Roseman promised DeFilippo that the team wouldn’t stop him from becoming an offensive coordinator elsewhere. Per McLane, the decision to stop DeFilippo came from owner Jeffrey Lurie.
Reportedly, Lurie wants to be sure that quarterback Carson Wentz will thrive; part of that plan apparently includes standing in the way of DeFilippo’s opportunity for advancement.
The story gets even more interesting. At the Senior Bowl, Roseman passed the buck for the DeFilippo decision not to Lurie but to Pederson. Pederson declined comment on the issue.
DeFilippo likewise declined comment, saying that he’s “thrilled to be with the Eagles for another year.”
Clearly, someone is talking off the record, and the end result is a bad look for the Eagles. While I’ll never shed a single tear for a position coach who is prevented from leaving after choosing the financial security of a multi-year contract (the easiest way to have upward mobility is to do one-year deals only), the notion that the team made a promise to DeFilippo a year ago that the team won’t currently honor sends a negative message to others who may be considering job offers from the Eagles in the future.
Indeed, the development calls the credibility of any promise made by the Eagles to coaching candidates into question, and anyone offered employment by the team would now be wise to insist on getting everything in writing -- and to have the written terms of the contract massaged relentlessly by a lawyer to ensure there are no loopholes or land mines.
And for those of you who will be inclined to argue that DeFilippo should have gotten the promise from Lurie directly, there’s a concept in business law known as “apparent authority.” Certain employees based on their titles and responsibilities have the ability to bind the company. Surely, Roseman and Pederson possess that power.
So even though Lurie has the power to trump them, DeFilippo has every reason to believe that he’s been lied to -- regardless of whether his public position is that everything is fine.