Jeff Stoutland is Philadelphia

After 13 years, the Eagles legendary offensive line coach is stepping away from the team

On a cold February afternoon in 2018, Jason Kelce took to the podium to make his remarks donned in classic Philadelphia Mummers attire. A very drunk Kelce addressed a parkway packed with very drunk Eagles fans (myself included) to celebrate Philly’s first-ever Super Bowl victory. During Kelce’s five-minute speech, he shouted about his teammates until his voice strained:

“We were a bunch of underdogs. And you know what an underdog is? It’s a hungry dog. And Jeff Stoutland has had this in our building for five years — it’s a quote in the O-line room that has stood on the wall for the last five years — “Hungry dogs run faster.”

Those immortal words from Jeff Stoutland, echoed by a Bud Light-fueled Jason Kelce, were a rallying cry for the City of Brotherly Love. “Hungry dogs run faster,” spoke to our team and our city. It speaks to the hard-nosed, “do whatever it takes to win” mentality that drove the Eagles to the heights of success and another Lombardi Trophy at that.

Eight Februarys later, legendary Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland has decided to step away from the team after 13 seasons in Philadelphia. The longest-tenured offensive assistant coach in the NFL is moving on to his next chapter, whether that’s retirement or another team.

Jeff Stoutland is Philadelphia. He’s an offensive savant who said little in public but made an impact beyond words. The brotherhood that he cultivated among years of Eagles offensive linemen, alumni of “Stoutland University,” reflects the ideals of Philadelphia at its core. The gospel of Stoutland is rooted in a focus on the fundamentals, hard work, a no-bullshit attitude, and taking care of the man next to you through every battle, every trial, every tribulation. “I fear not the man who practices 10,000 kicks once. But I do fear the man who practices one kick 10,000 times,” Stoutland would say.

Philly is the only town in America where offensive linemen become stars. Strength in the trenches has defined the modern era of Philadelphia Eagles football, and that is primarily due to Jeff Stoutland’s ability to get the most out of his players. Coaches who can teach linemen the way Stoutland can are very few and extremely far between.

Year after year, the Birds could always rely on Stoutland to develop the offensive line into one of the league’s best. Not having to worry about an entire position group has immense benefits. A coach like that allows you to take chances on unproven players with high upside and focus premium team-building resources in other areas.

Stoutland is room for error incarnate. He can mold clay into monuments like Michelangelo. He can turn a large flat-footed man into an All-Pro tackle. He’s one of a kind. A coach who’s nearly impossible to replace in his ability to teach technique and cultivate relationships with players, not just in his position group but across the team.

The only good thing Chip Kelly did for this city was bringing Jeff Stoutland into our lives. According to Zach Berman of The Athletic, Stoutland had a Pro Bowler in all 13 of his seasons as Eagles offensive line coach, and he’s had five players earn All-Pro honors, including Evan Mathis, Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, and Jason Peters. He oversaw offensive lines that paved the way for a historic 2024 season from Saquon Barkley, an All-Pro year from LeSean McCoy in 2013, and viable seasons from lower-level starters like Miles Sanders. His lines were monumental in Philadelphia’s two Super Bowl victories.

He transformed a 6’8” rugby player who never touched a football before into one of the league’s best left tackles in Jordan Mailata. He helped talented players like Brandon Brooks unlock their full potential. He developed an undersized 6th-round pick into the best center in the league in Jason Kelce. He was the only offensive line coach Lane Johnson has ever known, guiding a raw athlete into becoming one of the greatest right tackles in the history of the game. He rejuvenated the careers of players like Stefan Wisniewski, Mekhi Becton, and Fred Johnson, turning them from also-rans into Super Bowl winners.

Most importantly, Stoutland’s impact extended beyond the field. He helped Brandon Brooks and Lane Johnson through unprecedented struggles with anxiety and depression. Always lending an ear to listen, standing by players’ sides when they needed someone to believe in them.

Look no further than how his former players speak about him. In Brandon Brooks’ retirement speech in 2022, he referred to Stoutland as “family” saying:

“I feel like it is rare to have a coach who is as impactful on the field as off…Through all my struggles and low moments, I could always count on a phone call from you, the topic never being about football, but about life and how much you could help.”

Jason Kelce echoed similar sentiments in his retirement speech, saying:

“No one has been more influential or meaningful to my success on the field in my career than Stout. I think one of the greatest things a human being can give another is belief. This world, life, it can be hard. It can challenge yourself to points of self doubt and that is a dangerous place to be…And in my darkest hours as a Philadelphian, Stout was the one who believed in me.”

Without Stoutland, the Eagles will be missing one of the league’s biggest cheat codes. After a down season for the offensive line and the running game as a whole, ESPN’s Tim McManus reported that Stoutland’s run game responsibilities were removed during the season in an effort to find a solution for a struggling rushing attack. In the article, McManus reports that “Nick Sirianni took on a more active role” later in the season and that Sirianni and “then-offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo began incorporating different run designs” to help jump-start the struggling run game. McManus also reports that:

“Stoutland was not consulted about the changes to what he felt was an appropriate degree, a league source said, to the point where he no longer desired the title of run game coordinator because he felt it no longer fit his job description.”

Reports say that Philadelphia tried to bring Stoutland back in a reduced capacity, but he decided to move on after feeling like his voice wasn’t being heard last year. And who can blame him? It’s hard to parse through the details. But what we can say is that the legacy of the failed Kevin Patullo promotion remains. Its cracks have caused fractures between the team and the best offensive line coach in the league (not to mention the fractures between the team and its star wide-out). Sirianni’s adherence to cronyism may have ripple effects beyond his control. Patullo may be gone, but the scars remain.

As painful as it is, moving on from Stoutland has a silver lining. It forces the Eagles to commit to a wholesale change. Unbinding from the past and giving Sean Mannion the brush to paint his own vision. To fully embrace a modernized offensive system.

As for Sirianni, time will tell how this shakes out. For a coach who prides himself on culture and relationship buildin,g this feels like another instance of being unable to accurately navigate the dynamics within his own team and coaching staff when push comes to shove. Removing run game responsibilities from Stoutland makes sense in practice, but a coach who preaches culture like Sirianni should have the wherewithal to do so in a way that keeps his all-star coach on board with the mission. Change can be good. But whether or not that change is worth losing a generational offensive line coach remains to be seen.

There’s also the impact this may have on the relationship between the offensive line group and their head coach. Rumors have swirled about Lane Johnson considering retirement. Losing the surefire Hall-of-Fame tackle would be disastrous for Philly. Johnson was a vocal critic of the offense last year, saying they needed to try to be “less predictable” in comments to ESPN. How will Jordan Mailata, who referred to Stoutland as “like my father” respond along with Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, and others?

Time will tell what becomes of the 2026 Eagles, but make no mistake that losing Jeff Stoutland is significant. His impact on this team and this city will be felt for generations. As Johnson said in an article he wrote for The Philadelphia Citizen, “Coach Stoutland likes to say that no man is an island, that we draw our strength from others.” That’s his legacy. A coach who helped those around him reach their full potential, on the field and off it. A coach who turned teammates into brothers. A coach who taught hungry dogs to run faster.