There was speculation that the Philadelphia Eagles would hire either a Baltimore Ravens or San Francisco 49ers assistant coach after each team completed the Super Bowl XLVII on Sunday night.
But that was not the case, as the Eagles hired an under the radar candidate. The Birds hired Cleveland Browns linebackers coach Billy Davis as their new defensive coordinator.
The search lasted for nearly a month, as they looked for a coach to run their 3-4 defense. And Davis comes to the Birds after spending the past two seasons with the Browns.
He has worked in the 3-4 scheme almost exclusively since the 1992 season. But in Philadelphia, he is taking over a defense that ranked 30th in points allowed last season and tied for dead last in forced turnovers.
It is not a splashy defensive hire that many thought that offensive guru Chip Kelly would be able to land.
He does have defensive coordinator experience, but was highly unsuccessful with the Arizona Cardinals during the 2009 and 2010 seasons. He was also the Cardinals linebackers coach during the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
He was also the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator during the 2005 and 2006 seasons, before being fired. He came to the 49ers after spending a season with the New York Giants, as their linebackers coach in 2004.
He also spent the 2001 through 2003 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons as their linebackers coach. He was the defensive assistant/defensive line coach in 2000 with the Green Bay Packers.
He was the defensive assistant/linebackers coach in 1999 with the Cleveland Browns. He was the outside linebackers coach from 1995 through 1998 with the Carolina Panthers.
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