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The most consistent aspect of Nick Foles’ NFL career is once he leaves a place, people who had been with him try to acquire him again. That tells us something about the player and the person the Bears traded for last week.
The Athletic spoke with three of Foles’ former head coaches about why the quarterback leaves such strong impressions.
“When (the Eagles) were looking at bringing in a backup quarterback in 2017, Nick Foles was the first guy I wanted,” says Eagles head coach Doug Pederson, who was with Foles in 2012 and again in 2017-18. “He’s got the right demeanor. He’s a solid leader, great in the locker room. He’s not a big vocal guy, but he knows how to relate to players and get the most out of his guys.”
Chiefs coach Andy Reid drafted Foles when he was with the Eagles in 2012, then signed him as a free agent in Kansas City in 2016.
“When they want you back, that’s a good sign,” Reid says. “He has the ability to make everybody around him better.”
Bears head coach Matt Nagy now has been with Foles three times — in Philadelphia, Kansas City and Chicago. Bears quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo also has been with Foles three times — in Philadelphia, Jacksonville and Chicago.
Others who worked with Foles twice include Chiefs general manager Brett Veach, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, Bears offensive coordinator Bill Lazor and Bears offensive line coach Juan Castillo.
Ability is, of course, paramount in any football evaluation. But likeability also has something to do with this.
“I think he’ll be great for that (Bears) situation because he gets it,” Reid says. “He’ll always present competition, but if he ends up being the guy that’s the backup, he understands that role. He also understands the role if he’s the starter. He’s going to prepare himself like a professional and come to work with a smile on his face every day and work his tail off. He’ll be great in the locker room, great leader. He’s a man of faith. As good a player as he is, he’s even a better human being.”
The worst year of Foles’ career was the year he spent with Jeff Fisher and the Rams. Fisher benched Foles, and Foles said he subsequently lost his love for the game and contemplated retirement. But none of that diminished Fisher’s admiration for Foles.
“I have great respect for him, and I always pull for him,” Fisher says. “I acquired a friend for life in Nick. He’ll put a smile on everybody’s face every day. The Bears can rest assure whatever they decide, if Mitch ((Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky) is the guy, or however it works out, this is a good thing for their organization. I think it’s a great fit.”
Fisher indicated Foles’ performance issues with the Rams were mostly the result of offensive design and the absence of playmakers around him. Even on a team that was floundering, Foles’ leadership was evident.
“Some guys try to lead, and they don’t have it,” says Fisher, a former Bears defensive back. “He’s got all those engaging qualities, and it shows in the huddle and the locker room. That’s how he was with us.”
If Fisher could pick any player to mentor Mitch (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky, he would pick Foles, he says.
When Foles was an Eagle, he influenced Carson Wentz. Pederson says Foles talked to Wentz quite a bit in meeting rooms, at practices and on sidelines. He helped Wentz understand how to study and practice, and to use his time away from the facility effectively to maximize performance.
“It made a huge impact on Carson,” Pederson says.
Foles took over for Wentz when Wentz was injured in both the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Observing Foles perform with the same teammates Wentz had played with was beneficial for Wentz, in Pederson’s opinion.
“Nick was able to utilize all of his assets on offense,” Pederson says. “That’s something Carson took away from being with him. Carson is as dynamic as they come, one of the more talented guys I’ve been around. A lot of times, young players in this league with a lot of talent think they have to do everything themselves. Watching Nick taught Carson how to trust and rely on the guys around him.”
Andy Reid drafted Nick Foles with the Eagles and acquired him with the Chiefs. (Hunter Martin / Philadelphia Eagles / Getty Images)
Many thought the Eagles were done in December 2017 when Wentz tore his ACL. Foles took over and led the Eagles to two regular-season victories, two playoff victories and the Super Bowl victory against the Patriots.
Fisher was confident Foles would not unravel in the big moments because he knew his demeanor. Pederson was not surprised by the way Foles stepped up, and he says many of his teammates were not either.
“He was a part of this Philadelphia team before I was hired, so a lot of the players on offense had played with him before,” Pederson says. “There was already a confidence level and trust that we were going to be OK. I don’t think you saw any panic in us. That all came from the outside because they didn’t know the dynamic of Nick Foles. For us, it was just a matter of trying to figure out what Nick likes best offensively.”
What Foles likes best offensively is an intriguing subject. Though he has changed teams five times, he has played in the same system he will be in now, or a variation of it, for four of his eight NFL seasons. The high point of his career came playing in Pederson’s system. But he was his most productive in 2013 in Chip Kelly’s offense. Foles had career highs that season in passer rating (119.2), yards per attempt (9.1), touchdowns (27) and passing yards (2891), and made the Pro Bowl.
Lazor was the quarterbacks coach on Kelly’s staff, but it’s much more likely the Bears will use him the way Pederson did. Pederson suggests Nagy’s passing game should not be one-size-fits-all for his quarterbacks.
“Matt has to look at Mitch (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky and Nick Foles as two different quarterbacks, much like Carson and Nick for us,” he says. “He’s got to go back and study Nick and watch his Kansas City tape, watch his old Eagles tape with Chip Kelly, watch what he did with us in 2017 and ’18, and have a conversation with Nick. Nick can do a lot of things, but he’s not going to be able to do some of the things Mitch (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky can do from an athletic standpoint. They are two different athletes. He’ll have to use the gameplan based on Nick’s strengths.”
During the Eagles’ Super Bowl run, Pederson found Foles was proficient running RPOs. Foles also was in an RPO offense in college at Arizona.
“Nick is good with the RPOs because it’s more of reading the defense and being the type of guy who is going to process the information,” Pederson says. “That’s why it made it comfortable for me as a play caller to dial up the same play more than once in a game. I knew Nick was going to process the information and make it right. That benefits in an RPO situation. You aren’t going to ask him to run the ball like you would maybe with Mitch (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky, who is very gifted in that regard.”
Even though Foles ran a 5.14 40-yard dash at the 2012 NFL Combine, he is athletic. In high school, he might have been as gifted at basketball as football. Among the schools that recruited him to play basketball were Arizona State, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma and Texas Tech.
“What you’re getting is a tremendous athlete who has great hand-eye coordination, can throw from all the different angles,” Reid says. “He’s not the fastest guy in the world running, but he can throw from all these bizarre positions and do it accurately.”
To hear Reid tell it, Foles is play-caller friendly.
“He’ll tell you, ‘Call whatever you want you call,’ and he’ll simplify it from there,” Reid says. “He’ll take the complex, make it simple, and execute it. He doesn’t need a lot of razzle-dazzle, but he has played in the RPO game, and he has a great feel for that. He understands when to pull it and run or when to run it and or throw it.”
What is unknown about Foles is if he can experience sustained success throughout an NFL season. He has never started more than 11 games in a season and never won more than eight. Last season after signing a four-year, $88 million contract with the Jaguars, he broke his clavicle in the first game. He subsequently started only three more games.
His former coaches believe he is durable enough.
“I never looked at him as a guy who was always banged up,” Reid says. “He had a freak thing that happened to him this past year, but I guess until you do it, you’re going to have that on you.”
Part of having sustained success is understanding situations and responding prudently.
“I know the type of person Nick is, the way he prepares,” Pederson says. “He’s the type of guy who, if he knows he has a great defense, he’ll play to that strength and let the defense take control of the game. He’s going to do what’s right for that team and put his guys in position to be successful. So I know he can sustain it for 16 games.”
If Pederson, Reid and Fisher are correct, Foles is going to be a popular Chicago Bear.
_________________
Be well
GO BEARS!!!
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