Going back to school with the Philadelphia Eagles

It’s September, and in Philadelphia that means two things: football and back to school. The former is more popular than the latter, but what if we held the 2023 Eagles against the trappings of a new school year?

New clothes

For fashion-minded students, there’s no better time to upgrade the wardrobe than early September. According to statista.com, U.S. parents are expected to spend an average of $257 on back-to-school clothing and accessories for their children and $166 on shoes.

In Philadelphia, most of that money has already been spent on Kelly green apparel. Eagles fans tailgated overnight to get their throwback merchandise in July, and the team even held the first Kelly green block party earlier this week.

Sorry, Donovan McNabb. Midnight green is out. The Eagles will wear retro jerseys against the Dolphins in Week 7 and the Bills in Week 12, but the cool kids get to wear them all year long.

New teachers

Shane Steichen and Jonathan Gannon are now with other districts, so the Eagles will have two new coordinators this fall. The student body is already familiar with new offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, who replaces Steichen after he was hired to be the head coach of the Colts, but defensive coordinator Sean Desai, set to fill in for Gannon after he left to take over as the Cardinals head coach, is completely new.

Desai spent last season as an associate head coach/defensive assistant for the Seattle Seahawks after serving as the Bears DC in 2021. Johnson has been a coordinator with three college programs and spent the last two seasons as Philadelphia’s quarterbacks coach.

Johnson has known quarterback Jalen Hurts since he played for Hurts’ father in high school. Familiarity should serve them well, as long as Hurts can avoid the dreaded “teacher’s pet” label.