The four years since Buddy Ryan’s dismissal following the 1990 season had been frustrating ones in Philadelphia. The Eagles played competitive football, going 36-28 in that span, but they had missed the playoffs three of the four years. Ray Rhodes was hired as the new head coach and the 1995 Philadelphia Eagles returned the postseason, […]
Rich Kotite had a simple mandate when he became head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1991—start winning playoff games. The Eagles had made the postseason under Buddy Ryan each year from 1988–90, but had failed to win a game. That ‘91 campaign was undone by an early injury to quarterback Randall Cunningham. But the […]
The Eagles had a good run of success under Buddy Ryan from 1988-90, making the playoffs all three years. But postseason success eluded them. Ryan went 0-3 in the playoffs and after consecutive home losses in 1989 and 1990, he was shown the door. Offensive coordinator Rich Kotite was promoted. The 1991 Philadelphia Eagles overcame […]
Buddy Ryan was feeling the pressure in Philadelphia. Since arriving as head coach in 1986, the renowned defensive guru had turned a struggling team into a steady playoff contender. But the Eagles had not advanced deep into the postseason under Ryan. Between the desire of the fan base for more and Ryan’s prickly personality, it […]
Buddy Ryan looked like he had the Philadelphia Eagles coming around after a breakthrough NFC East title in 1988. They spent much of the following season looking ready to keep building on that success before some late disappointment ended the season and proved to be a harbinger of things to come. Here are the highlights […]
The 1979 Philadelphia Eagles were coming off the franchise’s first playoff berth of the Super Bowl era. Head coach Dick Vermeil, now in his fourth year, continued the progress in ’79 as the Eagles won more games, made it back to the postseason and this time advanced. GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTSStart reading today. Philadelphia was a […]
The 1981 Philadelphia Eagles go down as one of the big disappointments in a franchise history that has inflicted a lot upon its great fan base. The Eagles came into 1981 fresh off three straight playoff appearances and had reached the Super Bowl in 1980. After a blazing start in 1981, they looked ready to finish the job. But the subsequent collapse saw them first give up the NFC East and then make an early playoff exit.
Buddy Ryan arrived in Philadelphia as the new head coach in 1986 with much fanfare. Ryan was the defensive coordinator for the 1985 Chicago Bears, one of the great defenses of all time. In three short years, Ryan turned a struggling franchise into a playoff team as the 1988 Philadelphia Eagles captured the NFC East.
The city of Philadelphia is a great sports town in general and they love their Eagles in particular. But the franchise fell on very hard times after winning the NFL title in 1960, six years prior to the advent of the Super Bowl.
No team had ever won four postseason games prior to the 1980 NFL season, although was just the third year of the wild-card round, so the opportunities to do so had been pretty limited. It was the 1980 Oakland Raiders that were the first team to do what is now fairly common, as they took the long path to a Super Bowl win.
Expectations were sky high for the 1980 Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles were coming off two consecutive playoff appearances that saw progressive improvement. They lost in the wild-card round in 1978, giving up a fourth-quarter lead in Atlanta. The following year, Philadelphia went one round further, beating Chicago in the first round before losing to Tampa Bay in the divisional playoff.