Byrd: Eagles Headed In Right Direction


In the next week, Jairus Byrd will be asked for his opinion on hypothetically playing for a number of different teams around the NFL.

That process started today when the soon-to-be free agent safety joined SportsCenter for a few minutes. Anchor Hannah Storm asked Byrd about the possibility of joining the Eagles (the previous question was about the Browns).

“Oh, I’m familiar with Coach [Chip] Kelly and I know they’re headed in the right direction,” he said. “They made the playoffs last year. So like I said, there’s a lot that still has to go on, but obviously those are two great coaches [Kelly and Mike Pettine] and they look forward to doing big things this year.”

Kelly wasn’t the head coach while Byrd was at Oregon, but he was the offensive coordinator for two of those seasons (2007 and 2008).

Byrd said “no door is shut” when asked about returning to the Bills, but it seemed pretty clear that he wants to test the market, which figures to have several potential suitors.

Pettine, his defensive coordinator last year in Buffalo, is now the Browns’ head coach. And Cleveland opted not to franchise T.J. Ward.

Meanwhile, Byrd’s father, Gil, is the cornerbacks coach in Tampa.

As we’ve mentioned on several occasions, Byrd is one of the best in the league as a single high safety in the deep middle of the field. And he’s only 27-years-old.

“I’m just taking it in stride,” he said. “I understand that it’s a business and I’m just ready for the next phase of that.

“It’ll be fun and exciting. I think it’s something new so it’s kind of the unknown, but I’m looking forward to it. I don’t really know what it’ll be like, but hopefully it’ll be a good experience.”