Jim Schwartz was livid.
The Eagles had just lost to the Ravens by a point, and several of his defensive backs, notably rookie cornerback Jalen Mills, had publicly questioned his call on Joe Flacco’s touchdown pass just before the half.
Mills wasn’t exactly criticizing his coach. During halftime, Schwartz had told his defense to blame him for the call. The Eagles coordinator would later say that he only took responsibility because he wanted his defense to play aggressively in the second half. But Mills thought that it gave him carte blanche to speak freely.
“For sure, it wasn’t the coverage I wanted,” Mills said after the Dec.