Washburn is expected to leave the Titans for Philly.


UPDATE: Washburn has accepted a three-year deal with the Eagles to coach the defensive line. The following is my thoughts on the hire before it happened.

Right now all the talk about the Eagles is who will be taking over the defense. But with Rory Segrest getting the boot shortly after former defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, the team is also in need of a defensive line coach.

The first real candidate for the job, Tennessee Titans' defensive line coach Jim Washburn, is expected to accept an offer from the Eagles shortly according to Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean.

"After talking to sources tonight," Wyatt said via Twitter, "I'll be surprised if Titans defensive line coach Jim Washburn doesn't leave for Eagles."

Whether or not Washburn leaves for Philadelphia is pure speculation at this point, but Titans' head coach Jeff Fisher has confirmed that Washburn has definitely been in contact with Eagles' head coach Andy Reid about the opening.

"The only thing I can confirm is [Washburn] has been talking [to the Eagles]," Fisher said. "We are in the middle of it and going back and forth. I would think we'd find out in the next day or so."

It's worth noting that Washburn is being considered only to come in and coach the defensive line, and is not a candidate to become the defensive coordinator. That spots remains in limbo and likely won't be resolved for another week or so.

But a guy like Washburn taking over the defensive line could have more of an impact than anyone the Eagles could bring in to run the defense at this point. The biggest problem has been the lack of a pass-rush from the front four, and teaching how to get a pass-rush happens to be Washburn's specialty.

However, as noted by Tommy Lawlor, it could mean a change of philosophy in how the defensive ends are taught to play. Under McDermott, and even dating back to Jim Johnson, the defensive ends have always been told to play the run first and get to the quarterback second.

Washburn, however, teaches the exact opposite.

His ends are taught to get to the quarterback and if they happen to sniff out the run, go ahead and play it the best they can. It's worked for the Titans over the past decade or so, but that line of thinking might not mesh with the new defensive coordinator.

Either way, Washburn is by far the best defensive line coach in the league and should be able to help Brandon Graham and Antonio Dixon realize their potential, as well as guys like Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley who have largely underachieved despite strong play.

Washburn's best quality is his ability to get everything out of his players. I thought it was worth keeping Jason Babin around this season -- especially at such a cheap price -- but it's entirely possible that Babin would not have been the same player in Philly this year as he was in Tennessee because of Washburn.

With Fisher's contract running out in Tennessee and his future very much in jeopardy, job security alone might be enough to get Washburn to jump ship. Add in the extra money the Eagles should be throwing at him, and by this time next season we could be talking about a defensive line full of Pro Bowlers.
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Mikell was one of the few bright spots vs. the Titans.


-- This was the Kevin Kolb I expected to see the past two weeks. He was shaky in the pocket, his passes were sailing high, he was staring down his receivers, and threw a costly interception. For me, Michael Vick has always been the choice, but Kolb made the decision much easier.

-- Someone tell LeSean McCoy that he is fast in the open field. Instead of making a couple moves at the line of scrimmage and turning on the jets, he acts like he has to dance all the way down the field if he's going to get anywhere. He has been very good all season, but he has to stop dancing and just go north and south.

-- Owen Schmitt was once again very good as a blocker and had a key third-down reception. He has been a great pick-up this season and has minimized the loss of Leonard Weaver.

-- Where is Brent Celek? He's been a non-factor all season long. Once again he seemed uninspired and uninterested in the game. With DeSean Jackson out, Celek was going to be counted upon as a key target, but he failed to step up and help his buddy Kolb.

-- Who else wanted something to bash their head against when King Dunlap went down? I'm still not a big fan of his, but if he was forced to miss an extended period of time it would have gotten very, very ugly.

-- When Dunlap went down, Todd Herremans kicked out to left tackle. Alright, I'm on board. But why in the hell was Nick Cole the guy to come in at left guard? I thought Reggie Wells was the primary backup at left guard, which is why he wasn't getting the start at right guard? It just begs the question of why in the hell the team traded for him to sit the bench all year.

-- At left guard, Herremans seemed to get abused all day. Too many times he was in the backfield or just on his back. I can't put my finger on the exact issue, but Herremans seems to high in his kick-step and always seems a half-second late off the ball.

-- Mike McGlynn could have the makings of a very, very good center. Most of the time he messes up are mental issues that will come with experience. But as far as the physical side, he's been very good all year. I didn't think initially that the penetration on the fumbled exchange near the goal line was his fault, but he's taken the blame so he'll work on that and move on.

-- Max Jean-Gilles seemed pissed off. I'm not sure what the Titans did to him, but he was flying around all game making hits around the pile and really played to the whistle. Jean-Gilles is another guy I haven't been too fond of, but he looked good against Tennessee.

-- Winston Justice got hurt and it started to show a little. He got called for a holding penalty that was a directly result of stopping his feet, which was likely a direct result of a knee injury. It didn't seem too serious, so hopefully the bye week will put him back at 100 percent in two weeks.

-- I keep looking, but still can't find Brent Celek.

-- Jeremy Maclin seemed to get enough targets from Kolb, but he just wasn't able to make the big play like he was last week. The Titans seemed to really key on him and none of the other receivers were able to step up and take advantage. DeSean Jackson's presence might be more important to the deep passing game than even originally thought.

-- Jason Avant quitely had a decent day. He had a circus catch near the sideline on the way to a six-reception, 60-yard day, but is clearly better served as a slot receiver. He played on the outside more often than he usually would and it exposed his lack of breakaway speed.

-- It's hard not to like Chad Hall. The guy does whatever is asked of him and gives it everything he has. He averaged nearly five yards per carry on four attempts, but only hauled in one reception for five yards. Kolb missed him a couple times over the middle or he could have had a much better game.

-- Riley Cooper made the best play of the day when he snagged that awful pass on the Eagles' feeble attempt to copy what the Kansas City Chiefs did a couple weeks back. The wildcat reverse pass should have been intercepted, but Cooper stepped in front and snagged it then scored his first career touchdown a couple plays later. The future could be very bright for Cooper.

-- On the defensive side, Antonio Dixon was the best player. He man-handled anyone he lined up against and was in the Titans' backfield as often as Chris Johnson. Even when Brodrick Bunkley does return, the team would be selling themselves short to keep Dixon on the bench.

-- Mike Patterson has been fairly consistent all year, but unfortunately it's been only consistently average. He does a good job at the point of attack, but is not great at disengaging the blocker and making the play. When Bunkley comes back to the lineup, Patterson could get bumped to a rotational player.

-- After a great start to the season, Trevor Laws has disappeared. His snaps should have gone up after Bunkley went down, but he seems to be going the other way and taking a step back into being irrelevant. Hopefully he can turn things around and start contributing in the latter portion of the season.

-- Trent Cole is now up to six sacks on the season despite being dropped back into coverage more often than he should. If Sean McDermott would actually let him rush the passer on every play like he should be doing, Cole could have a few more sacks and could be helping the defense a lot more.

-- Like Laws, Brandon Graham has completely disappeared. The coaching staff seems to have lost faith in him and don't even seem to be using him in passing situations as much. Over the past couple of weeks, Graham has been the biggest disappointment on the team.

-- Graham's removal from the starting role has really killed Juqua Parker. He was doing such a great job as a situational player, but has been largely ineffective as a pass-rusher as the starting left end.

-- Ernie Sims was flying around all day, but still can't seem to make the big play. It appears as though he doesn't fully understand the defense quite yet and is caught slightly out of position at certain points. Overall, however, Sims might have had his best game of the season.

-- More than anything else, Moise Fokou seems like a smart football player. There was one point when Kerry Collins rolled out and was clearly looking to hit fullback Ahmard Hall, but since Hall was still in the backfield Fokou just dropped his shoulder into him and knocked him over. So far, it seems like Fokou and Akeem Jordan are interchangeable.

-- Stewart Bradley is just going through the motions, it seems. He's had some decent games, but this is not the borderline All-Pro we saw in 2008. Maybe he needs more time to recover from ACL surgery, but so far to say he's been unimpressive is an understatement. I'm running out of ways to voice my displeasure with him.

-- Speaking of displeasure, Ellis Hobbs and Nate Allen paired together as the most incompetent group of defensive backs in Eagles history. The 225 yards receiving by Kenny Britt was the most allowed by the Eagles in their entire 77-year history. Hobbs looked hurt and Allen just looked like he was thinking far too much and not relying on his instincts.

-- When did Asante Samuel get stone hands? He's dropped, by my count, at least five or six interceptions this season. He had a chance to intercept Collins when the game was 19-17 in the Eagles' favor and dropped the pass in the endzone. Maybe Dick Jauron needs to get Samuel some work with the wide receivers.

-- The only one to challenge Dixon as the best player on the defensive side of the ball was strong safety Quintin Mikell. With an interception, a sack, and a forced fumble, Mikell did all he could possibly do to help the team, and they blew it. As a note, the pick, fumble, and sack was the first time an Eagles defensive back has done that since Brian Dawkins in 2005.

-- The best rebound of the week goes to David Akers. He went 4-for-4 on field goal tries and booted five touchbacks. Hopefully Akers has totally put his awful Week 6 performance behind him and will continue to prove it was an aberration.

-- Sav Rocca once again looked like he belongs in the Pro Bowl. He had one punt into the wind that went a bit short, but that was the only gripe. He crushed the ball 63 yards on one punt and went over 60 yards one more time. As a punter and a holder, Rocca seems to really be grasping what is expected of him as an NFL player.

-- It was a good news and bad news type of day for Jorrick Calvin. He had a fantastic 41-yard kick return that set up a touchdown, and then fumbled a punt near the end of the game. The Eagles were down eight points, but still had a shot. Calvin putting the ball on the ground effectively ended their last opportunity.

-- The coverage teams were good once again. The Titans have had a good return game all year, but it looks like Bobby April is finally starting to get through to these guys. And if I didn't like Akeem Jordan enough, the guy goes hard on special teams and was always at least around the ball if he wasn't the guy making the tackle.

-- On offense, the playcalling was probably a bit pass-heavy. The team doubled the amount of pass plays (48) to running plays (24), but that's probably necessary when the team falls behind so quickly in the fourth quarter. First and foremost, Reid has to cut out the cute plays and just stick with what works.

-- It's time to fire Sean McDermott. Anyone who's ever watched Kerry Collins knows the way to beat him is to blitz him. When he sees the blitz, he throws the ball away. McDermott did a little of it in the first half but, as has been the case this year, backed off in the second half and killed the team in the fourth quarter. We'll talk more about McDermott, but it's time for him to go.

-- At 4-3, the Eagles are far from out of the race. However, they hit a hellish schedule and will need a much more stingy and consistent defense if they even want to finish .500. But that's not going to happen under McDermott and this team is in big trouble moving forward.
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Jason Babin could be a solid contributor somewhere.


Jason Babin has received a contract offer from the Tennessee Titans to the tune of one-year worth $1 million, but isn't a Titan just yet. He is an unrestricted free agent (technically), but the Eagles were savvy enough to work a clause into his contract that, for all intents and purposes, makes him a restricted free agent with a right of first refusal.

The Eagles now have seven days to match the Titans' offer, just as the Saints were given a seven-day window to match an offer the Eagles gave to restricted free agent Mike Bell.

And according to Philly.com, the Eagles will not be matching the offer Babin received from the Titans, which will allow him to join Tennessee. But with the lack of depth at defensive end, why not bring Babin back at such a low contract number?

Many in Philly aren't exactly high on Babin, but I liked what I saw from him. He's a tough, hard-nosed guy who isn't afraid to get into it with an offensive lineman and slap him around as much as he has to in order to get to the quarterback.

He's a straight-ahead type of guy who brings an attitude with him.

Sure, he only had 2.5 sacks, but it was also the first time he's been able to play his natural position of a hand-in-the-ground 4-3 defensive end rather than an outside linebacker.

Personally, I think the Texans ruined him by drafting him and immediately moving him to outside linebacker (which is my thought on that type of move in general) and that he will now most likely never turn into the playmaker he could have been.

However, there is still a chance that he can be a heavy contributor as he's solid against the run and a good pass-rusher. He's certainly worth the $1 million, and the Titans will be very happy with the acquisition.

The Eagles, on the other hand, will watch and wish they would have ponied up such a piddly amount for a solid contributor -- and at an area of need, no less.

UPDATE: The Eagles have officially declined to match the offer, and Babin is now officially a Titan.

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Steve McNair through each stage of his illustrious career.


NewsChannel5.com in Nashville is reporting that former Houston Oilers/Tennessee Oilers/Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Steve McNair has been found slain, a victim of a fatal gunshot wound to the head.

The incident was originally reported as a murder-suicide, but now has been changed to ruled as a double homicide.

"We do not know the circumstances related to the death," Don Aaron, information director for the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, said. "We received a call of persons injured inside one of the condominiums. When police officers arrived in response to that call, we found two individuals that had been shot to death inside the residence: one female, one male. We now know that the male deceased is Steve McNair."

A female victim was also found by McNair's side.

More information to follow as it is reported.

McNair was a former first round pick of the Houston Oilers in 1995. After playing for the Houston and later Tennessee franchises he was traded to the Baltimore Ravens where he played for two years.

Steve McNair was a class-act, and is a huge loss not only for the NFL community, but for the world simply as a human being.

"We are saddened and shocked to hear the news of Steve McNair's passing today," Tennessee Titans owner K.S. "Bud" Adams, Jr. said in a statement. "He was one of the finest players to play for our organization and one of the most beloved players by our fans. He played with unquestioned heart and leadership and led us to places that we had never reached, including our only Super Bowl. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family as they deal with his untimely passing."

McNair was only 36 years old.

The woman has been "tentatively identified" and when the information is known, her next of kin will be notified, then the press.

No one is yet in custody for the killings.


UPDATES: The mystery woman has been identified as Sahel Kazemi, a 20-year old woman living in Nashville.

Two days prior to the incident, Kazemi had been stopped for DUI, and was arrested for failing to take a breathalyzer. The black Escalade she was driving was registered in both her and McNair's names.

The police also confirmed that Mechelle McNair, Steve's wife, is not a suspect.

"Mrs. McNair is obviously very distraught," Aaron said during a briefing televised live on CNN. "Police chaplains have visited Mechelle McNair. At this juncture, we do not believe she is involved. We have not ruled anything out. We may be leaning a certain way, but we have not ruled anything out."

Police also said that they had not made a connection between McNair's death and the fact that a short time beforehand a 20-year old (same age as Kazemi), walked up to McNair at a restaraunt, accused him of slipping her a roofie and said that her boyfriend would kill him.

Also, Mechelle McNair had told a local news station that she had not heard from her husband in a few days.

While it is being assumed that Kazemi is his girlfriend, let's not be so hasty to jump to conclusions. There is no proof of a relationship at this point.

Also, the Tenneseean is now saying it is an apparent murder-suicide.
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