Harbaugh sets himself further apart in Reid, Eagles' coaching tree

Pat Shurmur, like Harbaugh, stayed with Reid and the Eagles for nearly a decade. After 10 seasons as a quarterbacks coach, Shurmur was hired as the offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams in 2009, but left after two years to take over the Cleveland Browns.However, Shurmur’s head coaching career didn’t take off in Cleveland, as he went 9-23 in two seasons with the Browns. As a result, he is now expected to return to the Eagles as Chip Kelly’s first offensive coordinator.Before succeeding Childress as the head coach of the Vikings, Leslie Frazier served as Reid’s first defensive backs coach from 1999 to 2002. He then left the Eagles to join the Cincinnati Bengals’ staff, then went to the Indianapolis Colts and got a Super Bowl ring in 2006 as their defensive backs coach.However, Frazier hasn’t had as much success as a head coach, as he went 3-13 in his first full season with the Vikings in 2011. Yet he bounced back in 2012 and guided the Vikings to the playoffs, although Adrian Peterson got most of the credit. Still, next to Harbaugh, Frazier is the most successful ex-Reid assistant who is still active as a head coach.Brad Childress arrived in Philadelphia alongside Reid in 1999 as a quarterbacks coach. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2002, and led the Eagles' offense for four years until the Minnesota Vikings made him a head coach in 2006.Childress is the only other former Eagles coach besides Harbaugh to come close to a Super Bowl. However, Brett Farve got most of the credit for taking the Vikings to the NFC title game in 2009, and for losing it as well. But when Farve got hurt and finally had to retire in 2010, Childress got fired before the season even ended, then took a year off before becoming the Cleveland Browns' offensive coordinator in 2012.View the list »
John Harbaugh was initially hired by Ray Rhodes in 1998 as the Eagles' special teams coach, yet stayed with Andy Reid until 2007. After being promoted to defensive backs coach in 2007, he was hired by the Baltimore Ravens as head coach in 2008.Like Reid, Harbaugh broke out of the gate and won a playoff game in five straight seasons. But unlike Reid, Harbaugh finally broke through with a Super Bowl victory on Feb. 3 on his fifth try. As such, no other former Reid/Eagles assistant will ever top Harbaugh's achievements without a Super Bowl ring as a head coach, yet none of them are close to it right now.

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The Philadelphia Eagles spawned a lot of head coaching careers in the Andy Reid era. In fact, six former Reid assistants left the Eagles to become a head coach. However, John Harbaugh separated himself from the pack long before he won the Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens on Feb. 3.

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While Brad Childress, Leslie Frazier, Steve Spagnuolo, Pat Shurmur and Ron Rivera have all fallen short on their own, Harbaugh has excelled since leaving Reid and the Eagles. After five straight years with at least one playoff win, and now a Super Bowl to add to it, Harbaugh has set the bar even higher for those on Reid’s coaching tree.

Among the other former Eagles turned head coaches, only Childress has ever come close to the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, Frazier just made his first playoff game, Shurmur just got fired and may be heading back to Philadelphia, Rivera barely survived a disappointing season and Spagnuolo is looking for work.

This is a list of all the Eagles’ former assistants turned coaches, all they have accomplished and haven’t accomplished, and how Harbaugh stands to tower over them for years to come.

View the list
  • John Harbaugh was initially hired by Ray Rhodes in 1998 as the Eagles' special teams coach, yet stayed with Andy Reid until 2007. After being promoted to defensive backs coach in 2007, he was hired by the Baltimore Ravens as head coach in 2008.Like Reid, Harbaugh broke out of the gate and won a playoff game in five straight seasons. But unlike Reid, Harbaugh finally broke through with a Super Bowl victory on Feb. 3 on his fifth try. As such, no other former Reid/Eagles assistant will ever top Harbaugh's achievements without a Super Bowl ring as a head coach, yet none of them are close to it right now.
  • Brad Childress arrived in Philadelphia alongside Reid in 1999 as a quarterbacks coach. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2002, and led the Eagles' offense for four years until the Minnesota Vikings made him a head coach in 2006.Childress is the only other former Eagles coach besides Harbaugh to come close to a Super Bowl. However, Brett Farve got most of the credit for taking the Vikings to the NFC title game in 2009, and for losing it as well. But when Farve got hurt and finally had to retire in 2010, Childress got fired before the season even ended, then took a year off before becoming the Cleveland Browns' offensive coordinator in 2012.
  • Before succeeding Childress as the head coach of the Vikings, Leslie Frazier served as Reid’s first defensive backs coach from 1999 to 2002. He then left the Eagles to join the Cincinnati Bengals’ staff, then went to the Indianapolis Colts and got a Super Bowl ring in 2006 as their defensive backs coach.However, Frazier hasn’t had as much success as a head coach, as he went 3-13 in his first full season with the Vikings in 2011. Yet he bounced back in 2012 and guided the Vikings to the playoffs, although Adrian Peterson got most of the credit. Still, next to Harbaugh, Frazier is the most successful ex-Reid assistant who is still active as a head coach.
  • Pat Shurmur, like Harbaugh, stayed with Reid and the Eagles for nearly a decade. After 10 seasons as a quarterbacks coach, Shurmur was hired as the offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams in 2009, but left after two years to take over the Cleveland Browns.However, Shurmur’s head coaching career didn’t take off in Cleveland, as he went 9-23 in two seasons with the Browns. As a result, he is now expected to return to the Eagles as Chip Kelly’s first offensive coordinator.
  • Ron Rivera was Reid’s first linebackers coach from 1999 to 2003. He then spent three years as the Chicago Bears’ defensive coordinator, then ran the San Diego Chargers’ defense from 2008 to 2010 before the Carolina Panthers picked him up as a head coach.Rivera benefited from having Cam Newton arrive with him in 2011, as Newton’s rookie success fueled high expectations for the Panthers in 2012. But a terrible start left Rivera’s future in jeopardy, until a late hot streak allowed him to keep his job. Yet with a 13-19 record over two seasons, Rivera may have just one more chance to win with the Panthers.
  • Steve Spagnuolo got his first NFL job with Reid and the Eagles in 1999 as a defensive assistant. He later became a defensive backs and linebackers coach before leaving the Eagles’ staff in 2007, defecting to the rival New York Giants. After two years as the Giants’ defensive coordinator, Spagnuolo became head coach of the St. Louis Rams in 2009.Spagnuolo started with a 1-15 season, yet a 7-9 improvement and a near NFC West title in 2010 bought him another year. However, he slipped back to 2-14 in 2011 and got fired, then coordinated one of the worst defenses of all time in the 2012 New Orleans Saints before getting fired.
View the list

, Philadelphia Eagles Examiner

Robert Dougherty has lived in Philadelphia all his life. He has written, edited and self-published three books on the TV show "Lost" and has written about sports, entertainment, movies, TV, news and various other topics on the Internet for the last five years on the Yahoo! Contributor Network.

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