Eagles Cut Ties with Eagles Pep Band After 28 Years

After almost 30 years, the Philadelphia Eagles have ended their relationship with the Eagles Pep Band - the group best known for playing the fan-favorite "Fly, Eagles Fly" fight song.

The team wants to freshen up their gameday vibe but hasn't said what's coming next. This ends a musical journey that started back in '96.

"I think they should keep them. They do a good service," said Jerry Scena to CBS News Philadelphia.

"Our run with the Birds was glorious and we are walking away smiling," said Bobby Mansure to NBC Philadelphia.

The main band members included Mansure on tenor sax, Brian Saunders playing lead saxophone, Anthony DiMeo on guitar and banjo, while Bruce Mulford handled the upright bass. Mansure and Saunders created the current "Fly Eagles Fly" version at Saxtrax Production Studios in 1995.

Through their "Learn Your Fight Song" campaign in 1997, the band turned their signature song into a gameday tradition. The effort made the tune a must-sing moment at every home game.

Some of their biggest highlights: performing at Super Bowl LII in 2018, leading the victory parade after the big win, plus playing at more than 500 Eagles fan weddings.

On social media, angry fans connected the band's departure to increasing ticket prices. Many wondered why a team charging so much couldn't keep this tradition going. What's next for gameday music isn't known yet.

When Mansure brought this new idea to the NFL in 1996, he kicked off something special that stuck around for generations. The last performance wrapped up an amazing chapter in Eagles history.

As recently as a year ago, Andy Reid would easily top the list of Eagles head coaches. But has Nick Sirianni passed him? Nick Sirianni not only became the first Eagles coach to make it to 2 Super Bowls, he became the 2nd one to win a Super Bowl. Not bad for a guy a lot of people wanted fired.

The Eagles have been around for a long time. Going back to 1933. In that time they have had 23 coaches. 14 of those came in the Super Bowl Era, which started in 1969. And for a long time in that era, the Eagles had no Super Bowls. 19 teams won a Super Bowl before the Eagles did, and 51 Super Bowls came and went before they finally won one in Super Bowl 52.

Related: Five interesting facts about Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid

But who is the best among the Eagles Head Coaches? Who is the worst among them? Are there any that maybe get more hate than they deserve or perhaps more love than they deserve? Let's run through all 14, and rank them from best to worst.

Because I am only counting since 1970, guys like Greasy Neal and Buck Shaw got left off. If they were on the list, obviously they would be rated very highly having both won at least one Championship.

I am also leaving off both Pat Shurmur and Fred Bruney, who only coached a single game. They may have each won that one game, but you can't really judge them one way or the other based on them replacing a fired head coach for one game. Only the 12 full-time head coaches made the list. From Jerry Williams, through Rich Kotite, and up to Nick Sirianni.

Separating Ed Khayat, Marion Campbell, Jerry Williams, and Mike McCormack was tough. All 4 failed to get a single winning season, let alone make the playoffs. But Ed Khayat takes last place. Why? Well for one he alienated his players with a draconian dress code, forcing them to get haircuts and a clean shave. His Pro Bowl Linebacker Tim Rossovich even forced his way out of Philly because of those rules. He also once guaranteed the Eagles would win a game against the Giants where they were 14-point underdogs. They lost that game 62-10.

Ed Khayat may be the last coach to never get another job, but Jerry Williams is the 2nd to last one. The only reason I put him one place higher than Ed was he lasted 1 more season. But given his 7-22-2 record, you could easily argue he is the worst. We are really splitting hairs here between these two.

But one thing in his favor is that on his way out he called then Eagles owner Leonard Tose "a man without courage or character." And since Tose once tried to move the Eagles out of Philly, I am inclined to agree with Williams on this one.

Marion Campbell was a great Defensive Coordinator. And he actually had some great defenses in his time here. But what he never had was a winning team. He also failed to have a winning season in two stints with the Falcons. His 34-80-1 career record is the worst for any coach with over 100 games. Also of note, he was an All-Pro for the Eagles in 1960 when they won the NFL Championship.

Another coach who never had a winning season, let alone a playoff game. McCormack was a Hall of Fame Offensive Tackle. But he never quite figured out being a Head Coach. Though he was fairly retrospective when he lost his job as coach the 2nd time with the Colts.

Kotite is literally the standard for bad coaching in both Philly and New York. When it started to fall apart for Doug Pederson, and later when Sirianni had his down year, Kotite is who people compared them to.

Yes he won a playoff game. But after that, it was a disaster. He started out 1994 7-2, and the future seemed bright. Then he imploded, lost the last 7 games of the season, and finished last in the NFC East. New owner Jeffrey Lurie fired him, and that was it for Kotite in Philly. It got no better for him in his next job with the Jets.

No head coach had a better start to their career than Chip Kelly. His first season had Eagles fans worshipping him. We convinced ourselves he was a genius who was going to change the game. Then the league adjusted to his scheme, and he had no answers. After getting them to the playoffs in year 1, he never got back and got fired before the end of year 3.

What makes him more hated, is how he pushed out talented players. They bled talent all 3 seasons he was there. Desean Jackson has a career year, he gets cut for nothing. LeSean McCoy gets traded a year later. His style and attitude wore people out fast. He got one more job with the 49ers after the Eagles fired him. They fired him after a single season. He is just lucky Rich Kotite exists or he would be lower on this list.

This one is going to be controversial. But the guy had some of the best rosters the Eagles have ever had, and he never won a playoff game. Reggie White, Jerome Brown, Eric Allen, Randall Cunningham, Seth Joyner, Keith Jackson, Keith Byars, and Cris Carter at one point. All that talent, and you can't win a single playoff game? Rich Kotite won a playoff team with mostly the same roster, but Buddy couldn't.

Some Eagles fans love him because he hated the Cowboys as much as we do, and he managed to beat them when they were at their best. But looking back, he failed big time to take advantage of what should have been a great time in Eagles history. Great Defensive Coordinator. One of the best. But a mediocre over-rated Head Coach.

How is a guy with a losing record better than Buddy Ryan? He did what Ryan couldn't do, and won a playoff game. And he did it with a worse roster. It was all downhill from there. But in 1995 he was Coach of The Year and coached a Rodney Peete quarterbacked team to the playoffs for a blowout win over the Lions.

Only 2 Eagles Head Coaches are currently in the Hall of Fame as a coach. Greasy Neale, and Dick Vermeil. Vermeil entered the Hall of Fame in 2022. He also coached the Eagles to their first-ever Super Bowl Appearance. He would later win a Super Bowl with the Rams. But despite that, he still went into the Hall as an Eagle.

If it were not for one of the greatest NFL Coaches period, and also the only two coaches to win a Super Bowl in Philly also being on this list, Vermeil could be even higher.

Doug P won the first Super Bowl in Eagles history. For that, he will always have a special place here. Especially considering he had the balls to call a trick play on a crucial 4th down, creating one of the most iconic plays in Eagles history. 

But also things just kept getting worse after the Super Bowl. That is not all Doug's fault, but it is also not not his fault. His offense got blander and blander. They never recaptured that magic again. He also flamed out in his next stop, lending further credence to the theory his SB win was a fluke.

But despite how it ended, he will always be the guy who brought us our first Super Bowl parade. And there is nothing wrong with 3rd place. 

Andy is one of the best coaches in NFL history period. He has now won 3 Super Bowls and coached in 6. He has the 4th most wins ever. He has taken two different franchises to a Super Bowl.

But we are not judging full careers. This is about what they did for the Eagles. And while Andy Reid presided over an Eagles revolution that turned a loser franchise into a perennial winner, and has the most wins in franchise historythere is 1 thing he never did here. Win a Super Bowl. He made it to endless Conference Championships, and even 1 Super Bowl, but he never gave this city a parade.

Two other guys did. One guy spun out quickly after it. But another guy has now gotten to 2 and won 1. And it is hard to not put that guy 1st. So Andy Reid, despite everything he did, settles in at 2. 

Sirianni went from baffling, to beloved, to hated, to baffling again, to Super Bowl glory. Sirianni might be an odd dude. He may have had immature moments throughout his career. He oversaw one of the worst collapses in Eagles' history. But you just can't argue with the results.

4 seasons, 4 playoff appearances, 2 Super Bowl appearances, and now, 1 Super Bowl win. He has one of the best records ever for a head coach. The sample size is still small compared to other greats, but even if you just go by winning % over the first 4 seasons of a coach's career, he is 13, and his 48 wins are the 2nd most in league history over a coach's 1st 4 years.

Now he is the only Eagles coach to get to 2 Super Bowls. He is 1 of 2 to win a Super Bowl. And unlike Doug P, he has sustained success. Doug called SB52 the New Norm, but he did not live up to that standard he set. Sirianni has lived up to it.

Andy Reid is the greatest coach to ever coach for the Eagles. But he never did what Nick did. He failed to get over the SB hurdle. Sirianni did. So he takes top billing now. Sorry Big Red, but Nick has accomplished more for this city in a third of the time.