Eagles special teams coordinator Dave Fipp joining Duce Staley on the Detroit Lions staff

Dave Fipp, the Eagles’ special teams coordinator under Doug Pederson, is headed to Detroit to take charge of the Lions’ special teams.

Fipp will be joining fellow Eagles exile Duce Staley, who is expected to be hired as the running backs coach and assistant head coach to new Lions coach Dan Campbell. Former Eagles center Hank Fraley is being retained as the Lions’ offensive line coach, so Staley will be among friends.

Campbell and Fipp worked together on the 2011-12 Miami Dolphins staff.

Fipp came to the Eagles in 2013 with former head coach Chip Kelly, and his units were well-regarded for much of his tenure. But when the team sank to 4-11-1 last season, special teams sank with it; some of that had to do with the talent at the bottom of the roster, but even kicker Jake Elliott struggled, hitting 14 of 19 field-goal attempts, 73.7%, after averaging 84.1% through his first three seasons. Elliott missed a 22-yarder in an Eagles victory over New Orleans, the only time in his career Elliott has missed from less than 30 yards. Punter Cameron Johnston endured his first career blocked punt, and Johnston’s 40.6-yard net was his lowest in three seasons.

The Eagles’ return teams didn’t provide much of a boost to a struggling offense. The Eagles’ 20.9-yard kickoff return average ranked 20th in the NFL, and their 8.8-yard punt return average ranked 18th. The only thing the Eagles’ special teams did really well was cover punts; their 6.4-yard opponent return average ranked eighth. Opponents averaged 22.3 yards per kickoff return, which ranked 18th.

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Veteran sports reporter Rick Gosselin ranks special teams overall, formerly for the Dallas Morning News, now for Sports Illustrated. Fipp’s Eagles units were No. 1 in 2014 and 2016, No. 17 in 2020.

New Eagles coach Nick Sirianni has not yet hired a special teams coordinator.

In his last news conference of the 2020 season, Fipp was asked if this had been his most challenging year.

“Every year is challenging in some ways. Like I’ve said before, we have a really high standard, I have a high standard for myself and for the things that we get done on special teams. I think I said last week, we’ve won four games. Last week, we were going into Game 15. This week, we’re going into Game 16. It’s definitely not been good enough in any area, certainly not mine, that’s for sure,” Fipp said.

Pressed for specifics, Fipp said he didn’t want to make excuses.

“This is a bottom-line business. The bottom line is, we’ve got to get the job done. That’s what we want to be known for, that’s certainly what I want to be known for,” Fipp said. “… Some days I’ve been better at that than others, or some years I’ve been better at that than others. I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of success in my career. We won four games, this wasn’t our best effort there.”