The Eagles have hired Bill Musgrave as quarterbacks coach to replace Bill Lazor, who left to become the Miami Dolphins' offensive coordinator. The team also announced that Mike Dawson has been promoted to assistant defensive line coach and Michael Clay has been named defensive quality control coach.
Musgrave, an Oregon graduate and six-year NFL veteran as a backup quarterback from 1991-96, served as the Minnesota Vikings' offensive coordinator for the past three seasons. Prior, he was the Atlanta Falcons' quarterbacks coach from 2006-10, where he tutored and developed Matt Ryan, the third overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, into a Pro Bowl quarterback. In Musgrave's final season with Atlanta, the Falcons finished 13-3 and secured the first overall seed in the NFC playoffs.
Before arriving in Minnesota, Musgrave's offenses were always ranked in the top half of the league, peaking with the Falcons in 2008, who were sixth in the NFL in total offense, averaging 361.2 yards per game. Upon being hired by the Vikings in 2011, Musgrave went to work developing rookie quarterback Christian Ponder, whom the team selected with the 12th overall pick.
Musgrave leaned heavily on All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson in each of his three seasons in Minnesota, culminating in the second-best single-season rushing performance in 2012 with 2,097 yards. In 2013, the Vikings offense posted its best season under Musgrave, ranking 13th in the NFL at 344.2 yards per game. The offense's best performance came in a 48-30 victory over the Eagles on December 15, when it racked up 455 total yards, including 370 through the air.
All in all, Musgrave has served as an offensive coach in the NFL for 15 years and is a disciple of the West Coast offense, just like current Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur. Musgrave started his coaching career as an offensive assistant with the Oakland Raiders in 1997 and filled the same role with the Eagles in 1998.
He took a brief hiatus from the NFL when he served as the University of Virginia's offensive coordinator, quarterbacks and tight ends coach from 2001-02. Musgrave made the move back to the NFL in 2003 when he was hired as offensive coordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars. He has extensive experience as an offensive and, in particular, quarterbacks coach and now has the chance to help further the evolution of quarterback Nick Foles, who will be entering his third season in the NFL.
After spending the 2013 season as the team's defensive quality control coach, Mike Dawson was promoted to assistant defensive line coach after helping the Eagles defense rank tied for third in the NFL in games holding their opponents to 21-or-fewer points.
A former linebacker under Chip Kelly at the University of Oregon, Michael Clay joins the Eagles as the team's defensive quality control coach. A four-year letterman for the Ducks from 2009-12, Clay, 22, earned second-team All-Pac 12 honors as a senior after recording 101 tackles, three sacks and one forced fumble while starting all 12 contests. Following his senior season, Clay signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2013, but did not make the team. The San Jose, Calif., native was a two-time All-Mercury News first-team selection at Bellarmine College Prep School.
