Shane Steichen

SHANE STEICHEN: I’m super excited to be a part of this organization, to be a part of this coaching staff, to work with these players, the front office, all the scouts we’ve been working with. The players so far have been fantastic through the off-season program. Excited to work with you guys as well and get to know you through this process.

Q. Can you talk to us about your offensive philosophy? Particularly QB Jalen Hurts, and when you look at the quarterback position, he does certain things well, and how you would tailor your offense to what he does best. (John McMullen)

SHANE STEICHEN: I think, when you go into a new situation, new team, you’ve got to find out about your players, you really do. I think you go through that process through virtually, but then when you really get them on the grass like we have been the last couple days and see their movements and their skills and see what these guys do well, you want to put them in position to make plays.

I think through time, through these next couple weeks and into training camp, that offense is going to be molded, and we’re going to tailor that to these players. Jalen has done a nice job. Obviously, the last couple days we’ve had him on the grass, but he’s done a nice job throughout the process, especially on the zoom. He works at it. He does a lot of good things on the grass, like I said, and obviously he brings a good skill set that you can do multiple things with him, so we’re excited about him.

Q. Obviously, you have known Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni for a long time. What were your first impressions of him when you first met him, and how have you seen him grow along the way? (Bo Wulf)

SHANE STEICHEN: My first impression, I came back — I was in Cleveland, came back to San Diego. I started in San Diego and was in Cleveland and came back with him. Right off the bat, the first couple days I was with him, you could just tell this guy loves football, like he’s obsessed with football. That really attracted me towards him because, when we were in meetings and we started talking, it was like, oh, yeah, this guy knows ball.

He’s got a lot of passion for what he does, and to get a chance to come back and work with him again after a couple years is very exciting. To see what he’s been as a head coach these last couple months, he has definitely grown. I think he’s going to do a hell of a job for this organization and this team.

Q. T Lane Johnson spoke earlier about the screen game being a little bit more emphasized in the offensive system and the play action, setting up the pass. How important are both of those principles in your offense? (Rob Maaddi)

SHANE STEICHEN: I think they’re important, they’re definitely important. Anytime you can get the ball to the quarterback’s hands quickly and create explosive plays in the screen game, that’s big. And obviously the play action game is big too. When you go into games, things are going to be different week in and week out. It’s your opponent. Who are you playing? What do they do on defense? What are the coverage techniques? What’s the fronts they are playing? So your scheme each week can be multiple by who you’re playing.

Q. Wanted to ask you how much of a learning lesson was last year for you being in that offensive coordinator job for the first time, and what maybe would you kind of change about your approach this year as opposed to when you came in last year? (Mike Kaye)

SHANE STEICHEN: Yeah, last year was great. Obviously, the first time doing it. You’re a position coach for a while, and the year before, I did it for the last eight games, then took over full-time last year, but it was a really good experience. I think you learn a lot. It’s different. It’s a different deal. You’ve got to be on it day in and day out because there’s a lot.

You have the team now. You’re not just one position. Everybody else is involved in it. You’ve got a staff. You’ve got to deal with a lot. And I think, if you can handle that the right way with the right people and be a good person within that and you’re building that scheme with those guys and then you make it a group effort — because it’s not just one guy. It takes everybody to do it, and everyone’s got to be on the same page, and you’ve got to have a detailed plan day in and day out and a great structure for what you want to get accomplished throughout the week and going into Sundays.

Q. Your background is almost specifically quarterbacks, more so than Nick Sirianni, so I’m not sure that means you’ll spend more time with Jalen Hurts and the other quarterbacks. But what is your philosophy in how you handle the quarterbacks in terms of their demeanor and personality? Are you hard on them? Do you love them up? What is your approach? (Jeff McLane)

SHANE STEICHEN: I think you’ve got to be honest with them. You’ve got to be honest with them, but also you’ve got to love them up when they do well, and you’ve got to correct them when they don’t do well. Obviously, playing the position as well, I’ve been there. They have to be who they are. You’re not going to change them personality-wise. These guys are who they are, and you’ve got to adapt to that. You can teach them and grow with them in their personalities, but I think you’ve got to let them be who they are and let them go play.

Q. In terms of offensive philosophy, what are some similarities you share with Nick Sirianni, and what are some differences in terms of building this offense? (Dave Zangaro)

SHANE STEICHEN: We were in the same system, terminology-wise, obviously, for a while, and then he went to Indy and the terminology has been very similar. There are tweaks here and there because it’s been a few years, but philosophy-wise, we see the game very similar. We have little tidbits here that I’ve learned the last couple years and that he’s done the last couple years, and right now we’re just meshing all that together, and we’re going to make it the best possible to put our players in position, like I said.

Q. I wanted to ask, when we were talking to RB Miles Sanders earlier, he said the screen game is a pretty big part of your offensive philosophy. I was just kind of wondering, what you see from Miles in that regard from looking at film and also adding guys like RB Kerryon Johnson and RB Kenny Gainwell, like your philosophy on the running back room in general? (Martin Frank)

SHANE STEICHEN: It’s a really good room. Excited about all those guys, that whole group. Our running backs Coach Jemal [Eagles running backs/assistant head coach Jemal Singleton] has done a heck of a job with those guys so far. Really excited, like I said, to get them on the grass like we are doing right now. We’ve seen their skill sets on film, but to see it in person and let them compete. Everyone is competing. Coach preaches competition. We’re all about competition here. All those guys are going to get reps, and we’re going to use them, like I said, to the best of their ability’s week in and week out and put them in position to make plays.

Q. My question for you is, if you had a chance to see people on film, what are your thoughts on watching Jalen Hurts in the four games that he played in late season last year? (Chris Murray)

SHANE STEICHEN: He did a nice job. I know he only played four games, but he did some good things, made some plays out of the pocket, some big scramble plays, used his feet. He’s an athletic guy who can make plays. We’re looking forward to working with him.

Q. If you think back to your time at UNLV, at what point did you realize you weren’t going to be a player and you’d go into coaching? And what was the key for you in working your way up the coaching ladder? (Zach Berman)

SHANE STEICHEN: I always kind of wanted to coach. I was around a lot of good coaches growing up. My high school coach was awesome, understood football, scheming it, all that stuff. Then when I got into college, again, I had a couple different coordinators, but all of them loved football, and learned a ton from those guys. It was probably more about my freshman year, sophomore year, I wasn’t very good at the time, so I figured I’m probably not going to the NFL, so let’s get the coaching hat on and start rolling.

So I really enjoyed the scheme part of it, being in meetings and doing all that. That was terrific. Then right from there when I graduated, I went into a graduate assistant role there at UNLV and then went on to Louisville and then got in the NFL.

Q. A lot of the Eagles’ struggles last year had to do with the offensive line and the injuries, but you’re getting these guys back. It’s a veteran line. I’m sure you’ve seen them from afar. What’s your take on this line? And even the young guys who got some time last year, having watched them on tape now, what’s your view on that? (Ed Kracz)

SHANE STEICHEN: These guys up front, I’ll tell you what, now, when I got here and I started watching tape of these guys, and I was watching the skill guys at times, but my eyes would go to the offensive line. [C] Jason Kelce, these guys, Lane, all these guys are freakin’ awesome football players. We’re excited about this group. [Eagles run game coordinator/offensive line coach] Jeff Stoutland and [Eagles assistant offensive line coach] Roy [Istvan], they do a hell of a job with those guys. We’re super excited about this offensive line, getting these guys back in. And even watching these guys communicate, you can see how tight they are, and how well they’ve worked together the last eight or ten years together. This is a good group. This is one of the best in the NFL, no doubt about it.

Q. The Chargers were ninth in 1st down run frequency last season. Can we expect an emphasis on running the ball a lot early here in Philly, and what do you like about this running back room? (Brandon Lee Gowton)

SHANE STEICHEN: I think my game plan, you go into games and adjust and adapt to what defense is giving you. Some games, you go into the game saying this is the philosophy we’re going to use this week, and other times you veer off from that and do different things. Then that’s pretty much it.

Q. You have a lot of young wide receivers in this room now, and some of them are going to their second year. How do you guys make sure you try to make the offense digestible and make sure they have success in this upcoming season? (Chris Franklin)

SHANE STEICHEN: I think that’s us on coaches. We’ve got to develop these guys week in and week out. [Eagles wide receivers coach] Aaron Moorehead, so far, has done a heck of a job with these wide receivers. We’re looking forward to working with these young guys and getting them reps and getting them involved in the new system and really honing in on the details and the fundamentals and the technique of the position to make them successful. I think, if we can do that with them, they’re going to become good players.

Q. Kind of piggy-backing off of that, I wanted to ask you about WR Jalen Reagor and WR DeVonta Smith. What did you see from Jalen last year, and as far as DeVonta in the pre-draft process, what did you like about him? (EJ Smith)

SHANE STEICHEN: Jalen Reagor is an explosive football player. He showed up on film, had some big punt returns and big catches. His explosiveness and his ability to catch and get YAC, it’s awesome. Super excited to work with him. He’s going to be a good player.

And I think DeVonta, when you watch DeVonta coming out, this guy, his first step off the line of scrimmage and his smoothness coming in and out of breaks, it’s unbelievable. The guy had three games, I want to say, over 200 yards receiving. The touchdowns, I want to say, was over the 20s. He won the Heisman for a reason. This guy is a talented football player that we look forward to working with.