Another coach leaves Eagles and this one is a little surprising

Another coach leaves Eagles and this one is a little surprising originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

In somewhat of a surprising move, Jeff Stoutland’s long-time top assistant, Roy Istvan, has left the Eagles for the same position on Kevin Stefanski’s Browns staff.

The Browns announced on their web site Thursday morning that Istvan – the Eagles’ assistant offensive line coach since 2019 – had been hired as assistant offensive line coach under new Browns o-line coach Andy Dickerson. Dickerson replaced Bill Callahan – the Eagles’ offensive line coach under Ray Rhodes – who is now o-line coach under his son Brian, the new head coach of the Titans.

Istvan’s connection with Stoutland goes back more than 30 years. Istvan played for Stoutland and then coached with Stout at Southern Connecticut State in the late 1980s. He joined the Eagles in 2019 after nearly three decades coaching in college.

Stoutland posted a video on social media last week indirectly indicating that he’s returning to Nick Sirianni’s staff, and so far he’s the only 2023 Eagles assistant coach that we know is returning under new coordinators Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio.

Istvan will see a lot of familiar faces in Cleveland.

Stefanski hired Duce Staley as running backs coach earlier this month, and Istvan and Staley were together with the Eagles in 2019 and 2020 under Doug Pederson. Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz was also here with Istvan. Also, Browns general manager Andrew Berry was the Eagles’ vice president of football operations in 2019.

Istvan is the seventh assistant coach from Nick Sirianni’s 2023 staff who is known to no longer be with the team.

Offensive coordinator Brian Johnson is now Commanders passing game coordinator, defensive coordinators Sean Desai and Matt Patricia have left but haven’t been hired elsewhere, quarterbacks coach Alex Tanney is Colts passing game coordinator under Shane Steichen, senior offensive assistant Marcus Brady is Chargers passing game coordinator, Tracy Rocker is defensive line coach under Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson, the former Eagles’ secondary coach, and secondary coach D.K. McDonald is co-defensive coordinator at Kansas.

Assistants whose fate we don’t yet know include running backs coach Jemel Singleton, receivers coach Aaron Moorehead, tight ends coach Jason Michael, linebackers coach D.J. Eliot and edge coach Jeremiah Washburn, as well as a number of assistant position coaches and quality control coaches.

In Istvan’s five years working with Stoutland, the Eagles had four offensive linemen make a total of 11 Pro Bowls – Jason Kelce five, Lane Johnson three, Landon Dickerson two and Brandon Brooks one.

This embedded content is not available in your region.