The Philadelphia Eagles have never won the Super Bowl and won’t win it again this season. But Eagles players and coaches still manage to win the Super Bowl after they leave Philadelphia. At least one of them will do it again on Feb. 3 for either the Baltimore Ravens or San Francisco 49ers.
The 49ers still have ex-Eagles kicker David Akers as their kicker, despite his terrible season. Once upon a time, Philadelphia dreamed that Akers could hit a Super Bowl winning kick. However, the prospect of Akers kicking a winning or tying field goal for the 49ers is filling San Francisco with dread.
If he fails, it would benefit Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and give him the championship he never won for the Eagles. Like Akers, Harbaugh hasn’t been to the Super Bowl since 2005, when Philadelphia lost to the New England Patriots. It was Harbaugh’s only Super Bowl appearance with the Eagles, despite coaching for them from 1998 to 2007.
Right after he left, Harbaugh won at least one playoff game in every season with the Ravens, while the Eagles have only won two playoff games in that span. While Akers will be best remembered for his years with the Eagles -- unless he makes or misses a memorable kick for the 49ers in the Super Bowl -- Harbaugh is set to become a legend for the Ravens.
He didn’t do it alone, as he was helped by an ex-Eagles legend. Wilbert Montgomery took the Eagles to the Super Bowl in New Orleans in 1981 as a star running back. Now he is in another New Orleans-based Super Bowl as Baltimore’s running-backs coach. With Ray Rice carrying the ball and former Temple Owls running back Bernard Pierce emerging as a rookie backup, Montgomery has had a pretty cushy job.
The Ravens have also recently picked up a more infamous past Eagle, in former defensive coordinator Juan Castillo. Although he was hired as a consultant just a few weeks ago, Castillo would still earn a ring with a Ravens win, before becoming a full-time running game coordinator in the 2013 season.
If that wasn’t enough, 49ers' secondary coach Ed Donatell could soon join the Eagles as defensive coordinator, whether or not he arrives with a ring. But regardless of whether a new Eagle arrives as a champion, at least one past Eagle will become a champion after leaving Philadelphia.
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