Missouri made such a good hire at defensive line coach, the Philadelphia Eagles thought they'd make the same one.
Chris Wilson, brought on as Missouri's D-line coach a little more than a month ago, will instead coach that position in Philadelphia, the Eagles announced Wednesday.
Wilson joins the staff of recently hired Philadelphia head coach Doug Pederson, who had been the Kansas City Chiefs' offensive coordinator since 2013.
Wilson's hiring at Missouri was announced Dec. 21 by the team. He was set to replace Craig Kuligowski, who had been at Missouri since 2001. Kuligowski had led Missouri's defensive line to unprecedented success on the field and in the NFL Draft. He was later hired as the University of Miami's defensive line coach as part of the staff turnover set in motion by Gary Pinkel's resignation.
Wilson had coached the past two seasons at Southern California, where he was fired in December. He previously coached at Colorado, Oklahoma, Mississippi State and Georgia, spending 19 of his 23 seasons as an offensive line coach.
"I'm definitely excited about the opportunity to be at such a great institution and program as Mizzou and also to be back in the SEC," Wilson had said in Missouri's release when he was hired. "... I'm excited about working with coach Odom and his staff, I see him as progressive and as an outside the box guy who is going to do big things. I understand the tradition of excellence that Mizzou has had with the defensive line, and I'm honored to come in and work hard to help give them a chance to be even better in the future."
Missouri had published a one-on-one interview with Wilson earlier in the day Wednesday. The story and its accompanying tweet were taken down and Wilson is no longer listed on Missouri's list of coaches online.
Wilson's move comes at a poor time for Missouri, as Feb. 3 is National Signing Day. Missouri defensive line commit Tre Williams (Rock Bridge), considered the fifth-best senior recruit in Missouri, visited Arizona State last weekend.
III
Two scholarships opened up on the Missouri football team Wednesday, as quarterback Eddie Printz and offensive lineman Mike Fairchild plan to leave the team.
Printz intends to transfer and Fairchild will stay at Missouri to focus on studies, multiple outlets reported.
Printz, a 6-foot-3 rising junior, shared second-string duties last year with Marvin Zanders after former starter Maty Mauk was suspended. Though Missouri never named Printz or Zanders the true backup to Drew Lock, Zanders took snaps and Printz did not. Printz served as the team's holder on kicks.
Printz saw the field sparingly as Mauk's backup in 2014, attempting one incomplete pass. He was also credited with a fumble recovery. He beat out Corbin Berkstresser in fall camp for the backup job that season.
Fairchild - a 6-foot-5, 295-rising sophomore - was listed in Missouri's participation chart for one game last year, a loss against Florida. He was rated a three-star recruit by 247Sports out of Blue Valley West High School in Stilwell, Kan.