Whether the Eagles are interested in Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott as a head-coaching candidate is unknown, but McDermott expressed strong interest in returning home during a radio interview Tuesday.
"Oh, yeah, I mean, listen ... we love it here. Living in Carolina, it's been great, being here for five years," McDermott told Anthony Gargano on 97.5 FM The Fanatic. "But yeah, we're always interested. I love the Philadelphia area. Quite honestly, it's been tough to watch over the last several years, you know, having grown up in the area and working there for 12 years.
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"Let's just say at the present time, with any and all jobs, I'm going to defer to my agent. It's a process and I'm humbled and honored to be in that conversation, whether it's the Eagles or with the other teams that are interested. I would just love to see the Eagles recapture that magic and that's probably the best I can say at this point."
McDermott returning to Philadelphia would be a homecoming for the 41-year-old on many fronts. A LaSalle Prep grad, McDermott joined the Eagles organization in 1999 and served in various capacities in the front office and coaching staff until 2010.
McDermott rose in the coaching ranks under defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, ultimately succeeding Johnson when he succumbed to cancer in 2010.
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"I don't think there's a lot of people that are fortunate enough like I was to to be around mentors like Jim and like Andy [Reid], to be honest with you," McDermott said. "With Jim, in particular on the defensive side of things, he taught me how to attack an offense, how to attack opposing quarterbacks and how to formulate a game plan, and then really make in-game adjustments.
"I didn't realize at that the time, how fortunate I was at a young age being just 24 or 25 years old, and one of [the youngest], if not the youngest position coaches in the NFL at the time for a number of years.
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"Working with guys like Brian Dawkins, Michael Lewis and then Quentin Mikell, it was just a special, special early time in my professional career. Jim's just been a huge influence on me professionally and in some ways personally as well."
Since being fired by the Eagles in 2011, McDermott has served as the Panthers' defensive coordinator under head coach Ron Rivera.
Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Tuesday that the Eagles have yet to reach out to McDermott. Under NFL rules, teams are permitted to speak with assistant coaches of top-seeded playoff teams during their bye week.
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Matt Lombardo may be reached at MDLombardo@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattLombardo975. Find NJ.com Eagles on Facebook.