New To The Kup

The winds-of-change offseason continued for the Eagles, who are hiring Chris Kuper to coach the offensive line, according to a league source. Kuper, 43, will assume the role previously held by Jeff Stoutland for 13 seasons.

Kuper spent the past four seasons serving as the Minnesota Vikings’ offensive line coach, but his contract wasn’t renewed after the 2025 season. The units were largely uneven, especially along the interior, during Kuper’s tenure, though the 2025 season requires some context.

In an attempt to overhaul the configuration, the Vikings essentially carpet-bombed the trenches last offseason, signing veterans Will Fries and Ryan Kelly to play right guard and center, respectively. The team also drafted former Ohio State standout Donovan Jackson in the first round. Tackles Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill were entrenched bookend pillars.

On paper, it appeared the Vikings had adequately patched up their sore spot of seasons past, arming second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy with the requisite protection. Injuries mounted, however, forcing Kuper and the Vikings to pivot, toggling with various iterations.

For perspective, Kelly appeared in only eight games while Darrisaw was available for 10. O’Neill and Jackson played 14 apiece, while Fries started all 17 regular season games.

From a schematic standpoint, given Kuper’s time coaching under Kevin O’Connell in Minnesota, the Eagles landed a coach that is well-versed in the modernized style of offense that offensive coordinator Sean Mannion is believed to plan to implement in Philadelphia.

Kuper’s alignment with Ryan Mahaffey, the team’s newly appointed run game coordinator, will be critical as the team looks to add some flavor to its run designs.

Mannion and Kuper actually overlapped for a season in Minnesota, with Kuper overseeing the offensive line and Mannion functioning as a practice squad quarterback in 2023. As an aside, Kuper also crossed paths with Eagles defensive coordinator — then-Broncos head coach — Vic Fangio in Denver, serving as the assistant offensive line coach from 2019-21.

In keeping with the trend of familiarity, Kuper, an assistant offensive line coach for two seasons in Miami (2017-18), was part of a Dolphins staff that also included Eagles’ pass game coordinator Josh Grizzard, who was an offensive quality control coach during that span.

Needless to say, Kuper will be tasked with filling the shoes of an icon in Stoutland, who coached Hall of Famers, All Pros and churned out Pro Bowlers, and possessed an innate ability to teach, challenge, connect and maximize talent. Stoutland, who produced linemen that totaled 27 Pro Bowls, coached hard and demanded much from his linemen, routinely fielding one of the league’s top units, and replacing him will assuredly be a daunting task.

Working in Kuper’s favor, like Mannion’s, is that he played the game at the highest level, which should only aid in the relatability and connection piece.

A fifth-round pick of the Denver Broncos in 2006, Kuper — who enjoyed an eight-year career — appeared in 90 games (79 starts).

— Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is a Staff Reporter/Content Producer for InsideTheBirds.com