New Eagles offensive line coach Chris Kuper isn’t trying to replace Jeff Stoutland. He’d rather ‘be myself.’
Kuper, who spent the last four seasons coaching in Minnesota, plans to lean on his playing days as he works with the Eagles offensive line.
New Eagles offensive line coach Chris Kuper knows he has big shoes to fill replacing Jeff Stoutland.
Stoutland coached the unit for the last 13 years, won two Super Bowls, and coached at least one Pro Bowler in every season. He became a household name as an offensive line coach.
So, how is Kuper approaching this seemingly impossible task?
“Replacing him, I’ve just got to be myself,” Kuper said Monday in his first press conference in Philadelphia. “I think in general, being in those chairs before as a player, I’ve gone through a lot more coaching changes than these guys have. The guys I just left in Minnesota have gone through a lot more than I even did.
“So there’s an evolution to football where you have to be adaptable. You’re going to have to adjust. There’s always going to be new terms with new coaches, new offenses. It’s the way [you go] about applying those things when you’re in there and on the field.”
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Kuper, 43, spent the past four seasons as the Minnesota Vikings’ offensive line coach. He played eight seasons with the Denver Broncos. He mentioned several times Monday that he believes his playing experience will help him mold his new unit.
“I’ve been in those huddles, I’ve had my hand in the dirt,” Kuper said. “I understand some of the sensations that these guys feel when they’re taking the wrong angle or the right angle or their hand’s not in the right spot or some of the adjustments that I’m going to ask them to make live on game day. But it’s going to be about trust.
“I have to earn the trust of the guys, and this is the honeymoon period. We’re in the offseason. There’s no live bullets coming. So, this is just part of the process. I think a lot of that process is going to be built throughout training camp.”
Kuper came to Philadelphia after Minnesota did not retain his contract when it expired this offseason. The Vikings allowed the second-most sacks in the NFL last season, though they used a staggering 25 different line combinations due to injuries.
With Kuper and new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion — who played in Minnesota when Kuper was on staff — now in charge, Philadelphia’s offense is going to look different. They are expected to implement a wide zone scheme with concepts that look similar to the offense Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell uses. The Eagles’ run game in particular will look different, featuring wide zone blocking to stretch opposing defenses horizontally.
What does Kuper think the new offense could look like?
“We’re going to try to make the defense defend every blade of grass on the field,” Kuper said. “Eventually this thing’s going to evolve into what our players are good at. So the starting point is they’re going to digest everything we got and then we’re going to start to build our offense as we get closer into training camp through training camp.
“This will be our offense when it’s all said and done.”
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