Eagles special teams coordinator gets a well-deserved contract extension

Philadelphia’s ST unit improved in 2023.

Philadelphia Eagles special teams coordinator Michael Clay has agreed to terms on a multi-year contract extension, according to a report from NFL insider Ian Rapoport.

Clay previously signed a one-year extension last offseason. At the time, it seemed like a pretty curious move for the team to not only bring him back but to give him a raise as well. Here’s what we wrote on February 27, 2023:

Sirianni was asked about Clay potentially getting fired during his press conference after the season ended. That was hardly a baseless question representing a minority opinion. It stemmed from the Eagles’ special teams unit being a glaring weakness — really, the ONLY weakness — for a good portion of the 2022 season.

Clay’s group improved towards the end of the year, as evidenced by a seventh-place finished in weighted special teams DVOA (which accounts more for recent performance). It ranked 15th in overall DVOA. Probably higher than you might expect.

That said, the Eagles’ special teams unit finished on a pretty low note (to say the least) by allowing the longest punt return in Super Bowl history. Kadarius Toney’s 65-yard scamper set the Kansas City Chiefs up with a five-yard touchdown drive to go up 35 to 27 with 9:22 remaining in the fourth quarter.

And getting back to the decent DVOA finish, it’s worth noting that the ranking was positive largely due to Jake Elliott’s performance on field goals and kickoffs. Elliott had already established himself as a good player before Clay arrived in 2021. One could point out that Elliott rebounded from a bad year in 2020 under Clay. But special teams quality control Tyler Brown, whose father is a longtime NFL kicking coach, probably deserves more credit in that area than a former NFL linebacker who became a special teams coordinator.

Further, the Eagles ranked very poorly by other special teams evaluations. Pro Football Focus graded Clay’s unit tied for 29th out of 32 teams. Rick Gosselin’s annual special teams rankings had the Eagles 31st.

While the 2023 Eagles regressed in a number of ways, they did improve on special teams. That much was apparent from the eye test but it’s also backed up by some numbers:

• 1st in special teams DVOA
• 5th in Pro Football Focus grading
• 10th in Rick Gosselin’s special teams rankings

The Eagles had one of the best kickers in the NFL with Jake Elliott winning three NFC Special Teams Player of the Week awards prior to being selected AP second-team All-Pro.

They got much better at punter (hat tip to Howie Roseman) with Braden Mann ranking eighth in punter EPA. Clearly an upgrade on Arryn Siposs.

Britain Covey was arguably the best punt returner in the NFL. He led the league in total punt return yards and the most punt return yards over expected in 2023.

Other notable special teams highlights include Jalen Carter blocking a field goal in the win over the Buffalo Bills and Mann completing a fake punt pass to Olamide Zaccheaus (albeit in a loss to the Dallas Cowboys).

Heck, even long snapper Rick Lovato had a forced fumble!

And so it’s clear this time around why the Eagles want to retain Clay.

To a larger point, Clay’s success is an example of a team giving a coach grace paying off. Perhaps that’ll be the case with Sirianni in 2024. Too bad for Brian Johnson that he did not get that kind of second chance.