@Spurt
I think we're seeing a change in the mentality of the owner and GM in Philly. They let the new head coach pick his staff. They didn't have to approve of his selections. They just let him pick who he wanted. That's a big change for them. They didn't do that with Andy Reid, Chip Kelly, or Doug Pederson. In each case, they imposed a coach or coaches upon the new head coach.
Are all of Nick Sirianni's friends the best possible coaches? Probably not, but they will be loyal to him and that counts for something. We won't have a situation like in New York where the owner wanted to hire one guy as the head coach, but he wasn't available and then when he became available he was imposed on the new head coach as the offensive coordinator/head coach in waiting. Joe Judge gambled last year that he had the power necessary to replace Garrett's o-line coach with someone more loyal to Judge. If the o-line isn't vastly improved this year, Joe Judge and his o-line coach could both be out.
The Zach Ertz situation is a bit weird. In the last offseason, a lot of tight ends got new, big-money deals. Ertz wanted one also. The Eagles pretty much said, "Have you seen our cap situation? You've got to wait a bit." Ertz responded with the worst season of his career. He dropped passes, quit on routes, and just didn't have his head in the game. He's never been a good run after catch guy, but he's been pretty clutch in coming down with the ball when you need him to. Last year he wasn't that guy.
He's made it clear he doesn't want to come back for the last year of his contract. The Eagles gave him permission to seek a trade and nothing came of it. He's pretty much purely a pass-catching tight end. Blocking is not his forte, but he has improved. He's not overly fast, but until last year he was reliable. Last year he wasn't reliable.
He's due to be a free agent in 2022. I think the smart thing to do is to keep him. Pay him the $8.5 million and remind him that the only way he'll get a big-money deal in free agency is by playing hard in 2021. If he plays well and leaves in free agency the Eagles get a compensatory pick that's better than anything we've been offered for him in a trade. There aren't a lot of teams out there with a spare $8.5 million lying around they want to spend on a moody, hot, and cold tight end who won't be happy with the $8.5 million and will want more. Zach has been very good, a top-five tight end. But last year, he was a bottom five tight end. Will he rebound? I don't know.
If he refuses to show up then he costs the Eagles nothing. He also gets nothing. Call his bluff. See what happens. The Eagles have been very generous so far in dealing with him. They gave him permission to seek out a trade. They just want some fair compensation for him leaving.
Having said all of that, I suspect the Eagles will just release him rather than deal with the distraction of him being a nuisance. You want guys on the team who want to be there. He doesn't want to be here. If you can't trade him, then cut him loose. He'll sign a low-cost one-year deal with someone and wonder why he gave up on the $8.5 million.
Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
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