The Philadelphia Eagles' secret weapon is Christian Parker

How did Philly's pass defense do a total 180? On Opening Night at Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, Go Long chatted with the coach central to the development of rookies Quinyon Mitchell & Cooper DeJean.

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NEW ORLEANS — The 33-year-old assistant coach isn’t a main attraction on the marquee. Inside the Superdome on “Opening Night” for Super Bowl LIX, mobs of cameras flock toward the big draws: Patrick Mahomes and Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts and Travis Kelce. All the protagonists and antagonists you’d expect. Coaches are also available to chat. Vic Fangio holds court with about 15+ reporters for an hour.

After two laps around the congested field — the NFL has morphed this event into a circus — we finally locate the man who may deliver a second Super Bowl to the city of Philadelphia: Christian Parker.

Name doesn’t ring a bell? Hell, you’re not alone. If he wasn’t wearing the team’s official paraphernalia, the Eagles’ passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach might’ve been a free man the full hour of media availability. At one point, someone from Sirius XM appears on a quest for sound. To her credit, the unwitting reporter flat-out admits to Parker she has no clue who he is but figures he’s a coach because of his white jacket.

She asks two questions, leaves, we resume our conversation.

Last season, the Eagles finished 31st against the pass. This season, they were No. 1.

Last season, the Eagles finished 30th in points allowed (25.2). This second, they were second (17.8).

An astronomical jump powered by what’s been ballyhooed as one of the greatest offseasons in NFL history, right on par with the 1994 San Francisco 49ers three decades ago. One rookie cornerback from Toledo, Quinyon Mitchell, is locking down wide receivers. One rookie slot cornerback, Cooper DeJean, is both Caucasian and walloping Marvel superhero, Derrick Henry. No, that epic collision was not an AI deep fake. And while Howie Roseman is entering a Rocky/Dr. J/Iverson/BDN/Bobby Clarke sports-god stratosphere in Philly, no general manager can merely wave a magic wand with transactions.

This sort of stunning turnaround on defense is only possible with special coaching on the day-to-day level.

That’s where the vibrant Parker comes in. He’s the man pushing these defensive backs toward greatness, and he also happens to be younger than a corner in his own room: veteran Darius Slay.

“I try to make sure the relationship piece is important,” Parker says, “that we tell the truth to each other at all times. We’re very direct. We also have fun in the process. There’s a balance. So being able to set those boundaries, we can be in whatever mood that we need to be in and go out and win on Sundays.”

All seek the truth, even if it’s ugly. His film sessions are veracious. His door’s always open.

The key — he details — is knowing that each individual is motivated differently.

“Sometimes me being harder on Darius Slay about something,” he says, “Q’s going to be listening to that. Or me talking about something to Tristin McCollum is going to perk Reed Blankenship’s ears up because they’re going to defend their teammates. So you’ve just got to know how to navigate the room and there’s different ways. You play a psychological game with them without them really knowing it sometimes.”

The Eagles are reaping the benefits of that psychology.

Next up is a date with an all-time great.

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Unlike 99.9 percent of kids who play football at a young age, Parker’s dream was not to score game-winning touchdowns in Super Bowls like this. Rather, to stand right here on the sideline. Growing up, he wanted to coach for a living as early as middle school. Part of the reason was that everyone kept telling him that he sounded like a coach. The more he thought about it, the cooler this idea became. The more realistic. Back then, he was oblivious to the profession’s endless, shameless hours. But into high school in Battlefield, Va., Parker realized he was seeing a different game than his peers — the tactical side.

“It all made sense to me,” Parker says. “The connecting of the dots and the angles and the space and there’s some basketball to it. I like basketball a lot, too. So it was kind comparing and contrasting the two. It always made sense to me — and it’s the development of people and being around people. That was another thing that I was attracted to. So, it all made sense.”

As a player, he walked onto the team at Richmond.

As a student, he was a political science major and Parker was particularly intrigued by the Socratic method, by the idea of presenting and arguing ideas in a room full of people. Richmond’s small class sizes were perfect for lively dialogue and debate. The exact opposite of a lecture hall that puts you to sleep and/or has you leaving for a bagel 20 minutes in. He learned both the power of persuasion and listening to opposing “vantage points.” Above all, Parker relished the constant communication.

So as he swiftly rose up the coaching ranks, that’s exactly how he decided to run his own meetings.

“Guys can’t get comfortable — nobody’s silent — they don’t know when they’re getting cold-called on,” Parker says. “We keep the conversations rolling that way. Obviously, sometimes it’s just me talking, but I’m trying to bounce ideas off of guys to let them talk and express how they see things and how they feel about ‘em. It leads to the chemistry of the group.”

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The man who sparked Parker’s coaching career was Latrell Scott, his coach at Richmond. Scott took over as the head man at Division-II Virginia State and named Parker his defensive backs coach. From Virginia State (2013- ’14) to coaching DBs on Scott’s staff at Norfolk State (2015- ’16), Parker quickly ascended to Notre Dame (2017) and Texas A&M (2018) as a defensive analyst before earning his NFL shot as a defensive quality control coach for the Green Bay Packers through the team’s back-to-back runs to the NFC Championship in 2019 and 2020.

This grind led to his big break as the defensive backs for the Denver Broncos from 2021- ’23 where Parker developed the best cover corner in the sport: Patrick Surtain Jr.

The timing for both parties in Philadelphia was perfect.

Off a wretched ’23, in which they lost six of their final seven games, the Eagles needed to drastically reshape their secondary. The new DC Fangio pegged Parker as the man to oversee the overhaul.

Next, they all hunted for fresh blood.

Mitchell was the pick at No. 22 overall over Alabama’s Terrion Arnold. In the second round, Philly traded up for DeJean at No. 40. Thinking back, Parker says the entire organization loved Mitchell’s “competitive nature.” In the MAC, the corner famously had four interceptions — including two for touchdowns — in a 52-32 win over Northern Illinois. But how this kid from tiny Williston, Fla., (pop: 2,976) got to Toledo and stayed at Toledo was also appealing. As legend goes, Mitchell repeatedly liked the tweets of Kevin Beard in a relentless effort to get the Toledo assistant’s attention. He grayshirted, earned a scholarship, starred and — when he had the opportunity to take more NIL money at a bigger school? — Mitchell balked. Mitchell stayed with the Rockets because they were loyal to him.

On draft day, he was the only prospect who didn’t hail from a power conference school inside the green room.

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni also had intimate intel given he was college teammates himself with Toledo head coach Jason Candle at D-III Mount Union.

Up close, on his Top-30 visit, everyone could tell Mitchell was wired differently.

“He wanted to finish what he started there,” Parker says. “It shows his loyalty and that’s not a shot at anybody who chooses to move because you’ve got to do what’s best for you. For him, it was best for him to stay in that ecosystem that he had already built and continue doing what he was doing to still reach his goal.”

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ALERT: There are not droves of white cornerbacks chasing down receivers with 4.2 and 4.3 speed across the NFL.

There are three total, which is exactly three more than usual.

Yet on film, it was impossible to miss Iowa’s DeJean. His “awareness” and “knack for making big plays in the big moments” were undeniable, be it as an All-American punt returner or at corner. Parker cites a “crazy” over-the-shoulder, Willie Mays-like interception vs. Rutgers that DeJean took back for one of his NCAA-leading three pick-sixes as a sophomore. Parker believed these were the athletic defensive plays DeJean would need to make in Fangio’s scheme.

And honestly? Parker was on the DeJean Train early. When his Broncos selected Iowa’s Riley Moss in 2023 — one of those three white corners populating the sport — the coach also couldn’t take his eyes off No. 3. He asked Moss for more, and Moss filled him in. Turns out, DeJean was always a freak athlete. Back to throwing down monster jams on the basketball court.

Says Parker: “He’s a special talent, he has a special mind and he’s really mature for his age.”

Indeed, DeJean turns 22 years old on Super Bowl Sunday.

The key was challenging both. Coaches were determined to make both players earn their starting spots. All camp, Mitchell played nickel even though the Eagles saw his future at boundary corner. Meanwhile, one reason DeJean slid to the 40th pick was that he fractured his fibula during a mid-November practice at Iowa. He rehabbed. And before training camp began, the 6-foot, 198-pounder injured a hamstring that forced him to miss a dozen practices. The first four games of this ‘24 season, he played a grand total of eight snaps in the Eagles’ primary defense.

After the Week 5 bye, Parker and Fangio cut him loose. DeJean became an instant force vs. the run and pass with 51 tackles, a forced fumble and six pass breakups.

Rookie cornerbacks almost always endure brutal growing pains. Doesn’t matter if they’re picked in the Top 5 or a UDFA. The NFL’s maddening rules against hand-to-hand combat are an adjustment for all. Yet here’s DeJean with a textbook hit on Baltimore’s 245-pound Henry. (“The epitome of who he is,” says Parker. “He’s fearless.”) And here’s Mitchell with a pair of momentum-warping postseason interceptions.

Both are confident. Both, Parker explains, are “humble enough to learn.”

Not only have they leaned on Slay, a man who has played 188 career games. Parker sees the rookies chatting often with Lane Johnson about the similarities between playing offensive tackle and cornerback.

“An all-hands-on-deck approach,” Parker says, “and those guys are always hungry and thirsty for more knowledge. They’re tireless workers.”

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Parker welcomes all corners, all safeties to visit his office any time. He has only one condition: You better come in hot with questions. You better be ready to talk — a lot. Nobody is allowed to waltz in empty-handed. He wants both his office and his DB meeting room resembling those poli-sci classes at Richmond. Whether it’s an element of the gameplan… an adjustment… a clue… something they noticed on film, the defensive backs are constantly bringing up specifics to serve as a launching pad into a lengthy discussion.

That way, they’re filling gaps and dotting i’s and cleaning things up 24/7.

“Because you don’t know what guys know until you hear ‘em talk about it,” Parker says. “Guys can easily slip through the cracks if you’re not asking ‘em to speak in front of their teammates. And I think it also builds trust in the room because those guys know that their teammate knows what they know.”

In addition to the group meetings, Parker is always sitting down 1 on 1 with guys. Or 1 on 2 with a pair of DBs.

His first three years in the NFL, Blankenship — profiled here — has had three different DB coaches and three different coordinators. Mention Parker’s name on this noisy Opening Night in New Orleans and he lights up.

“He’s one of those coaches that gets his players,” says Blankenship, who had 78 tackles, four interceptions and six pass breakups this season. “Yeah, he’s a little young, but I’d much rather have a young coach like that because he understands us. And there’s no barrier between us or him. We’re going with the flow. Communicates all the time. Comes to the sideline — something happens — and we’re always talking.”

As for his coaching style, Parker is both hard on guys and a cerebral mind, Blankenship continues. (“If we need to get ripped, he’ll rip us.”) Yet, Parker also explains everything so clearly, so precisely and he’s very much a player’s coach. It’s not all football, all the time. Parker will randomly text Blankenship hilarious memes he found on Twitter. A small thing that builds trust.

“It makes me play faster. More confident,” Blankenship says. “Talking with all the other players, they feel the same way.”

This safety deserves credit himself for unlocking DeJean’s breakout rookie season. Blankenship helped the bushy-haired rookie missing home bust out of his shell. For a while, the Iowa kid didn’t say much at all. So, Blankenship says he made a point to initiate conversation each morning. Over time, DeJean went from borderline mute to cracking jokes at Blankenship’s expense. (“I’m like, ‘Alright. Alright. You need to chill out! You’re getting too comfortable with it.’”) The two became incredibly close. And as DeJean’s cult legend grew, the memes began to spread online… none more than a photo of a white wine selection with a sign that read “Exciting Whites.”

Out was Blankenship’s old nickname: “Ghost.”

In were the Exciting Whites. The two wore matching t-shirts into a Nov. 14 game against the Commanders.

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All fun. Both make the sort of athletic plays that fly in the face of everything we’ve watched on Sundays for 30 to 35 years.

Thus, it’s fair to wonder if opposing offenses are taking these two… uhh… lightly on the field.

“At the end of the day, we’re professional football players,” says Blankenship, smiling. “Whatever they think, they think. We’re just here to have fun and play.”

No wonder Blankenship started spontaneously crying when the Eagles won the NFC Championship. Last season was a miserable experience.

This has been a whole new world and Parker’s presence is a major reason why.

Since his Green Bay days, Parker has been around some of the best corners of this era: Tramon Williams, Jaire Alexander, Surtain, Slay. Along the way, the greatest lesson he’s learned is that players genuinely want to be challenged every day. They want to become “the best version of themselves.” And Parker knows that if he can build that off-the-field relationship? If Slay and Mitchell and C.J. Gardner-Johnson and those Exciting Whites know he truly cares? They’re more willing to be pushed and that’s the essence of coaching itself.

Outside of football, Parker enjoys spending time with his 3-year-old niece, 3-year-old god daughter and attending NBA games. He’s a huge LeBron James fan and coaching the Broncos those three years made him appreciate the talents of three-time MVP Nikola Jokic. He’s been attending Sixers games in Philly, too. Back home, Parker is the ultimate sneaker head. He owns about 400 pairs of shoes, including 200 Jordans.

He’s into fashion. He brings a flair of swagger to work.

He wants everyone playing with brash, unapologetic tenacity.

“We want to be the ones that are dictating and playing on our terms,” Parker says. “Whatever that looks like in any call.”

So, yes: the film room was “turnt up” upon watching Cooper DeJean drill Derrick freakin’ Henry in the Eagles’ 24-19 win on Dec. 1. That inconceivable play is everything he wants this Eagles secondary to resemble.

Now, his unit is all that’s standing between Patrick Mahomes and a Chiefs three-peat.

Parker looks out toward the game field. In less than a week, lives will change out there. Forever.

His greatest coaching assignment to date has arrived.

“When that whistle blows and that kickoff goes, it’s still the same football, still the same lines on the field and everything else that we’re used to having,” Parker says. “So just being able to handle the week and prepare the same way. Understand the magnitude of the game and respect that, but respect the game in terms of what it is and everything we’ve done to get to this point.

“We’ve just got to do it better.”

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