Ahead of Super Bowl LIX, PhiladelphiaEagles.com will catch up with several of the assistant coaches for three questions to discuss some of the moments and players who have helped the team reach the championship game. Today, Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach Jeff Stoutland reveals what he takes from the last Super Bowl meeting with the Chiefs and how his players have grown into expanded roles this season.
What did you learn from the last Super Bowl meeting with the Chiefs?
"I just think there's plays in that game that you wish you could have back. I think that when you go and experience that type of thing that's the only way we learn. If you don't fail, you ain't never ever going to the top. You have to learn through experiences, so I think going through that, at least this is the way I think, how could we prevent from having that negative play or that negative play and that's what we're doing here right now. This is a business trip. This seems great, but I'm just telling you, we are here on a business trip and these things that I'm speaking of right now, we are trying to minimize by rehearsing, by talking through that in meetings, by walking through it, by practicing it."
Jordan Mailata is a first-time captain. How has he embraced an expanded leadership role this season?
"When Jason Kelce retired, there were these couple guys that stepped into that batter's box immediately. He was one of them and you can't be a leader if you haven't walked the walk, if you haven't put the time in, if you haven't given of yourself to your teammates from an effort standpoint. You can't literally get up in front of anybody and start talking like a leader because it's false. I think that he realized it's his turn, it's his time. He had respect from the way he performed, the way he prepares in meetings and on the field. He wasn't inconsistent at all."
Cam Jurgens stepped in for Kelce and earned Pro Bowl honors. How was he able to step in for an all-time great player?
"He started at right guard next to Kelce. Do you have any clue or any idea how valuable that was to hear him, Kelce right there next to you, calling out these calls, at the last second changing it, all those things that he experienced as a guard, to see that up close, live in person, is so valuable for his progress as a center.
"I think knowing and understanding the expectations that are in the meeting room. OK, we're not going to miss an opportunity. If we have a one-hour meeting, we're going to take advantage of that hour meeting every way we can. When we go on the field and we do an individual drill, we're going to crush that period, and we're going to maximize that. And so when you understand this is the way that we do things, which comes from the veteran players, that's the way we do things and there's no ifs, ands, or buts around it. This is how we maximize it. We just try to get ahead each day and it's a process that we go through."
