Jason Kelce digs deep to explain Eagles’ 7-game meltdown
Jason Kelce had a rather poor end to his NFL career. After a 10-1 start to the 2023-24 season, his Philadelphia Eagles underwent a shocking collapse, losing all but one of their six remaining games and being eliminated in the Wild Card Round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
On Monday, the Super Bowl-winning center sat down with the Associated Press' Rob Maaddi to discuss that stretch. He said:
"Whenever you lose that many games in a row, it's never just one person or one area. It sounds pretty bad, but (it's) the same as when you're winning at a high level, when you're losing at a high level ... I think we had a lot of talent last year, but there were pieces that we were missing. I think the cohesion certainly wasn't there, like it was the year before."
He continued by saying that the organization made some missteps regarding the coaching staff:
"It didn't work out with the replacements. And I think both (OC) Brian, (DC) Desai, and (defensive assistant) Matt Patricia, all these are great coaches. But for whatever reason, the circumstances of the staffs or the players, or whatever, it didn't really come together ... On offense, we went simpler. On defense, we went the opposite way."
Jason Kelce reconfirms retirement
There have been instances of NFL players initially retiring, only to decide that they are not actually done. Tom Brady is a recent example, who initially retired after the 2021-22 season, only to change his mind and return for 2022-23.
However, one must not expect Jason Kelce to do the same thing. In that same interview, he said he would rather watch Cam Jurgens develop as a center:
“I really think Cam is going to be tremendous this year. He’s going to really show people how great he is. He was good for us last year at right guard, and he’s going to flourish at center."
He continued:
"For me personally, my days of playing are just done and I do not foresee any scenario taking place other than maybe medicine inventing a way to get rid of arthritis that I would ever entertain coming back at all anymore.”
Jason Kelce has since become a pregame analyst at ESPN. He made his debut in the role at the Hall of Fame Game.