‘He’s doing everything he can’: Jordan Mailata defends Chris Kuper amid Eagles’ O-line struggles
Mailata, who had a well-known close relationship with Kuper's predecessor Jeff Stoutland, offered a strong defense of the Eagles' first-year O-line coach.
Amid the Eagles’ six-game losing streak, many have been quick to point to the offensive line as the main reason for the team’s struggles.
It makes sense. The Eagles have given up a pressure rate of 42.65, which ranks 29th in the NFL, and the team ranks 27th in rushing offense.
Coaching the line is Chris Kuper, who replaced legendary offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland this offseason. Stoutland spent the previous 13 seasons with the team and became a household name thanks to his two Super Bowl wins.
» READ MORE: What we know (and don’t) about the Eagles entering Week 9 vs. the Giants
Replacing Stoutland was a difficult task, and Kuper clearly hasn’t matched the exploits of his predecessor in his short time with the team. That’s why Kuper has faced some ire from pundits and Eagles fans this week. Coach Nick Sirianni came to Kuper’s defense on Monday, as he faced questions about the job security of his offensive staff.
“Chris is coaching his [butt] off,” Sirianni said Monday. “He’s fighting his [butt] off, he’s coaching his [butt] off on a daily basis. You guys don’t get to see that. I get it on a daily basis.”
All-Pro tackle Jordan Mailata took it a step further. Mailata spoke for nearly 15 minutes Wednesday afternoon and shifted the blame toward the players, not Kuper, for the unit’s struggles.
“I think it’s easy to point the blame to someone who isn’t out there executing plays,” Mailata said. “When you’re not playing your best football, you’re not playing as close as you want to go, it’s easy to point somewhere else. … That’s something that we’ve been talking about as a unit, like, ‘You need to do a better job just finishing our blocks.’”
“I don’t like passing the blame on a coach. He’s doing everything he can. … We’ve been doing a terrible job.”
» READ MORE: Eagles turn to Joe Milton, the first of two QB auditions they must stage to make the most of 2026
In fairness to Kuper and the O-line, the unit has been a revolving door this season. Lane Johnson retired before Week 5. Cam Jurgens was traded to the Baltimore Ravens that same week. Landon Dickerson missed five games due to injuries, and all of them have been replaced by far less experienced players. It’s a difficult task.
This is another reason why Mailata was quick to come to his coach’s defense. He even mentioned that Kuper — who played eight seasons in the NFL — has a coaching style similar to that of Stoutland’s.
“He gets on us,” Mailata said. “He’s similar to Stout in that way. The amount of time we’ve spent in the film room, watching technique, watching good technique, watching bad technique, and then coaching it. It’s really on-the-field stuff that’s probably a lot more different to Stout because of the scheme, but now we’re trying to pick up those numbers. I think he does a great job.”
The Eagles have problems. Eight games into the season, that much is sure. But which ones are symptomatic, versus the ones that are systemic? From the head coach to the personnel, from coordinators to the front office, The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and David Murphy scrutinize the micro issues that point to some of the larger dilemmas the Eagles now face: should they start to pack it in, and who will be held accountable for the team’s shortcomings? Listen here.
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