The 5-1 Buffalo Bills next opponent is the 3-4 Philadelphia Eagles. This contest will feature a defensive mind that Buffalo knows quite well, as well as other players and coaches who have spent time with both franchises. Let’s discuss.

Buffalo Coaches:

-Head coach Sean McDermott got his start in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles. From 1999-2000 he was the scouting administrative coordinator. In 2001, McDermott was promoted to assistant head coach. From 2002-2003, Sean was a defensive assistant, as well as a quality control coach. From 2004-2006 he was the assistant defensive backs coach. In 2007, McDermott was promoted to secondary coach. 2008, Sean was moved from the secondary to the linebackers coach. In 2009, he was named the interim defensive coordinator and secondary coach and kept the same role through 2010. McDermott was fired in January of 2011 but was hired by Carolina just two days later.

-Leslie Frazier spent time in Philadelphia alongside Sean McDermott. From 1999-2002, he’s was the Eagles defensive backs coach.

Buffalo Players:

-Jordan Poyer started his NFL career with the Philadelphia Eagles. He was selected in the 7th round of the 2013 NFL Draft (Pick #218). He never ended up playing a full season for the team, as he was released following the Week 6 game of that year.

-Matt Barkley was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 4th round of the 2013 NFL Draft (Pick #98). He spent two years with the team before being traded to the Arizona Cardinals.

-Ryan Bates spent this past offseason with the Eagles. He signed with the team as an undrafted free agent but was traded to Buffalo in early August in exchange for Eli Harold.

-Kurt Coleman got his start in the NFL with Philadelphia. He was selected in the 7th round of the 2010 NFL Draft (Pick #244) and played there from 2010-2013.

Philadelphia Coaches:

-The Eagles defensive coordinator, Jim Schwartz is someone Buffalo knows quite well. He was the defensive coordinator for the Bills in 2014 and had success. While many fans were clamoring for the team to retain Schwartz, Rex Ryan was hired as the new head coach and wanted to bring his own guy in.

Philadelphia Players:

-Nigel Bradham started his NFL career in Buffalo after being elected by the team in the 4th round of the 2012 NFL Draft (Pick #105). He played for the Bills through 2015 and stated that he wanted to continue playing for them, he even went on record saying he would accept a one-year "prove it" deal if that was the only option. Unfortunately, Bradham and the Bills were unable to come to an agreement and he moved onto Philadelphia.

-Ronald Darby was another player who got his start in Buffalo. He was selected by the team in the 2nd round of the 2015 NFL Draft (Pick #50) and played 2 seasons for the Bills. He was traded to the Eagles in August of 2017 in exchange for wide receiver Jordan Matthews and a 2018 3rd-round pick.

-Jason Peters is another player who played for the Bills to start his NFL career. He was signed by the team as an undrafted free agent following the 2004 NFL Draft. He started out as a blocking tight end and went on to be one of the better left tackles in football. With Peters performing well, he believed he was due for a contract extension and unfortunately the two sides were unable to come to an agreement leading to him being traded to Philadelphia in 2009 for their 1st-round pick (used to select Eric Wood.)

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