Eagles Locker Neighbors Battling For Linebacker Role: Could History With Coach Help?

Linebacker coach Bobby King has a previous history with one of the Eagles LB's looking to beat out "one of my closer friends on the team."

Aug 1, 2023; Metairie, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints linebacker Zack Baun catches a pass on interception drills during training camp at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports / Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

PHILADELPHIA – COVID was coming fast, and the world was on the brink of shutting down when Bobby King flew to Wisconsin to scout then-Badgers linebacker Zack Baun at his pro day. Afterward, the two grabbed some lunch.

“(We) sat and talked for like an hour-and-a-half, two hours about ball and life,” recalled Baun, an early offseason free-agent signing by the Eagles. “So, to be reunited here with him is a really cool opportunity.”

King, who referred to the meal as dinner, got a call during the eat-and-chat that everything was shutting down. They quickly parted. King was with the Houston Texans, working in various coaching roles for five seasons, when he scouted Baun.

The Texans had a chance to take him when they were on the clock in the 2020 draft with pick 74 overall but went with offensive tackle Josh Jones instead. Baun went two picks later, at No. 76, to the New Orleans Saints.

Four years later, Baun signed a one-year free agent deal to play for the Eagles.

"Good football player,” said King. “He was on a good team (at Wisconsin), good football player, signal caller. He was the captain of the defense. “He's kind of a Swiss army knife, can play anywhere and he's done a good job so far.”

King cautioned, however, that the players were still in “pajamas.”

“Right now it's passing camp…so just trying to utilize the best we can do with him right now and get the coverage work and see if he can do it,” said the LB coach. “So far, so good."

With the history between King and Baun, it wouldn’t be wise to count him out in the battle being waged between him, Devin White, and Nakobe Dean to start this season.

Baun said that there are similarities to Fangio’s system with what he did at Wisconsin, the sort of familiarity that, along with Dean still progressing from a foot injury, likely led to him getting most of the ILB reps with the first team this spring.

Eagles linebacker Zack Baun talks to the media during the team's minicamp in early June. / By Ed Kracz

“Our DC at Wisconsin is Jim Leonhard,” said Baun. “I don’t know if Vic coached him in Baltimore if he’s just from that Baltimore realm, from that lineage, but some of the blitzes, the aggressiveness, some of the things we do in coverage is very much the same.”

The Badgers’ defense that Baun captained included Andrew Van Ginkel, one of the stalwarts last year when Fangio molded the Miami Dophins’ defense into a top 10 unit.

Baun said he and Van Ginkel grew close at Wisconsin and would “hit him up this summer and pick his brain a little bit.”

As for Dean, the two have become good friends.

“Good dude,” said Baun. “He was the first person when I came to sign, he dapped me up and said let’s get to work. That’s what we’ve done. We bounce ideas off each other in the locker room. One of my closer friends on the team for sure.”

It could come down to the two locker neighbors competing to start, assuming White is the man in the middle. King, however, said every linebacker will be expected to learn the roles of middle and off-ball linebacker.

Training camp will go a long way in deciding the outcome, especially when the pads come on and it’s time to thump.

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