Eagles Will Default to Their DNA to Deal with Giants OC Change

The move from Jason Garrett to Freddie Kitchens in a short week is sure to generate some unscouted looks

PHILADELPHIA - Desperate times call for desperate measures.

That, more than anything else, may explain the New York Giants’ decision to fire offensive coordinator Jason Garrett on a short week that also includes the Thanksgiving holiday.

Former Cleveland Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens, who had been a senior offensive assistant for Giants head coach Joe Judge and Garrett, will take over the play-calling duties for the 3-7 Giants against the surging 5-6 Eagles on Sunday.

“I don’t think there’s ever an ideal time to make a move like this in-season, but, to me, it’s whenever it’s necessary to make the move, you go ahead and make it,” Judge said on a conference call Wednesday. 

“Going into the bye week we were coming together as a team in all three phases. There was some progress being made, but ultimately, we need to be more productive as an offense.”

Judge, a Philadelphia native, is attempting to build a culture of accountability in North Jersey for an organization that has hit the skids in recent seasons.

Dating back to 2017 the once-revered Giants franchise has been a bottom-feeder with a record of 21-53 that span, including the 3-7 mark this season. Another three losses over the final seven games and New York will record double-digit setbacks for the fifth straight campaign and Judge could be updating his resume after just two seasons at the helm.

“I tell the team all the time I’m not afraid to make moves whenever necessary to put our team in a position to be successful,” said the embattled coach.

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What Judge doesn’t want anyone to think is that Garrett was scapegoated in order to remove the target off the head coach’s own back.

“Let’s be clear, someone’s not taking the fall,” Judge said, “This isn’t a blame game. I made it very clear to our guys. I’m in no way concerned or influenced by external criticism or perception.”

In Judge’s mind, it’s just about getting the Giants out of the 3-7 hole where the final NFC playoffs spots figure to go to teams with either slightly above or slightly below .500.

“My job is to make sure I make the best decisions for the team and put everyone in position for success,” Judge said.

The second-year head coach even thanked Garrett, the long-time mentor in Dallas, for helping him grow into the big chair in the nation’s largest media market

“I appreciate what Jason did. I have a very good relationship with Jason. He’s been very good to me in terms of being a young head coach and sharing his wisdom and experiences,” Judge said. “He’s helped me grow a lot. He’s helped this team grow a lot. Phenomenal job building relationships in this building.”

For Eagles’ rookie coach Nick Sirianni the move complicated things a bit from a preparation standpoint.

“You have to go back and look at some things that Kitchens did at Cleveland and some of those things like that,” he said. “Of course, you look for every advantage, every edge, some of the tendency things. You got to go back and look at what they had.

“I've said this before in here, it's a different play-caller. There's going to be different looks. There's going to be different things that he does, Coach Garrett didn't do, or vice versa. We just got to be ready for everything.”

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Veteran defensive tackle Fletcher Cox explained that the unique circumstances almost have to have the Eagles’ looking inward.

“The biggest thing is making it about us,” Cox said on Wednesday. “We know that they’re going into a switch, and this is a division game. Basically, it comes down to we kind of know them, they maybe know us from the film they’re watching, but the biggest thing is making it about us, making sure whatever [defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon] calls everybody is doing their job and holding them accountable.

“Will they have some wrinkles? I’m sure they will, but the biggest thing for us is executing our game plan like we’ve been doing.”

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.