McDermott Wants Eagles To ‘Recapture the Magic’

Sean McDermott joined the 97.5 the Fanatic morning show Tuesday and indicated that he does have some interest in the Eagles head coaching job.

“Oh yeah, I mean, we love it here, living in Carolina it’s been great being here five years. But yeah, we’re always interested,” he said. “I love the Philadelphia area and quite honestly it’s been tough to watch the last several years, having grown up in the area and worked there for 12 years. The fan base, I know it’s important to them; they’re genuine, they’re dedicated and they’re real. And the facilities up there are second to none. I’d love to see the Eagles recapture the magic so to speak.”

The La Salle College High School product and Jim Johnson pupil oversees a Carolina defense that finished the regular season first in takeaways (39) and sixth in both yards against and points per game (19.3). His unit has finished in the top 10 in opponent yards in four of his five seasons as defensive coordinator in Carolina.

McDermott’s name has been a popular one as multiple teams — including the Eagles — search for a new head coach. But to this point, the Eagles have not submitted an interview request. When asked if the team had reached out in any way, McDermott politely declined to comment and said his agent was handling that.

The 41-year-old was with the Eagles organization from 1999-2010, starting as a scouting administrative coordinator before spending several years as a position coach. He studied under Johnson all the while, and took over as defensive coordinator when his mentor passed.

He had a rough two seasons as DC in Philly. McDermott was asked on Tuesday what he has learned in his five years since.

“Probably the biggest thing is from a leadership standpoint,” he said. “The game is not all about x’s and o’s. It’s bigger than that. It’s leadership and it’s about people. We’re not in the business of making doorknobs. We’re in the business of people. You’ve gotta connect with people and in particular, the modern athlete. There are different things that you’ve gotta do as a coach these days and a teacher to relate to the modern athlete, and I think we do that well here. And then just communicating the vision.”

Coming off a three-year period where relationship building was not prioritized, Jeffrey Lurie wants a leader that “values emotional intelligence” and connects with his players.

McDermott emphasized the importance of that as well during his interview on the Fanatic.

“For myself, being young — or young in this business at 41 — but having 17 years in the league, I’m young enough where I can connect with the modern athlete and these young guys, and I kind of act once in a while like I actually listen to their music and they get a big kick out of that and everything, so that’s fun. It’s fun to be around these guys, they love just seeing your true personality. It’s one thing to be one guy behind your desk in your office with your door closed but they want to see who you really are, who you are with your children and your family and then come game time that you’re going to be at their side with them and trying to work through those adverse times, and really celebrate the wins and then correct — within the context of the vision — the losses.”

You can listen to the entire interview here.