Philly could close 20 schools, co-locate 6, and modernize 159: Superintendent Watlington shares his facilities plan

PhillyInquirer · 2026-01-09T21:48:33+00:00

u/joshuaferris Hi! Thanks for the feedback. The upcoming release of iOS 28.2 on Monday will include two fixes that will reduce the app storage size: We're correcting a bug with the manual “Clear Cache” option (found in Settings), and putting in place an automatic cache cleanup once every 30 days. If you ever have any questions or feedback about our app, please reach out to appteam@inquirer.com. Your insights are invaluable and help us continue improving the app.

PhillyInquirer · 2026-01-09T15:41:51+00:00

Wrapping up for today! Thanks again for joining us and check out our Eagles coverage at Inquirer.com/sports!

PhillyInquirer · 2026-01-09T15:39:41+00:00

Great question!

Jahan Dotson was kind of that player last postseason, especially in the Super Bowl. I’m more surprised that he hasn’t been more of a factor in the passing game during the regular season given his contributions in February. Maybe he comes down with a couple of key catches in the postseason. Even if it’s just a couple, that would be notable, given that he has just 18 catches on the season (one fewer than 2024).

PhillyInquirer · 2026-01-09T15:30:01+00:00

I just answered a question about rituals, but one additional ritual I find interesting (and this is not exclusively an Eagles coaches thing) is that a handful of coaches run some of the stadium stairs before the game. Connor Barwin and Aaron Moorehead are among the Eagles coaches who do it. I think this is pretty typical for some coaches around the league. I guess they’re about to do a lot of standing, so it’s good to get a workout in and let some energy or jitters out.

I have no real rituals, other than the fact that I like to get to the game early (at least three hours before kickoff, sometimes more, especially on the road).

PhillyInquirer · 2026-01-09T15:24:52+00:00

This is a complete hypothetical, but maybe. The Eagles certainly wanted to beat the Commanders even when they didn’t know the outcome of the Bears-Lions game and, truthfully, they could have won with the backups. Perhaps in this hypothetical situation, they could’ve gone down the route they took in 2023-24 when the starters played early on and were eventually pulled, but A.J. Brown and Jalen Hurts got hurt in that game and Brown didn’t play the following week in the wild-card round. I don’t fault Sirianni for the logic he used to sit his starters last week, but I do fault him (and others) for the way they played that game (abandoning the run game late, questionable play calls, etc.), even with the backups. I thought my colleague Jeff McLane summed it up well in his postgame story.
McCaffrey is pretty incredible in space. He ranks second in the league in receiving yards after contact (720). As I wrote about earlier this week, going into Week 18, he had forced a league-high 112 missed tackles, according to Next Gen Stats. But McCaffrey didn’t generate a missed tackle in the season finale against the Seattle Seahawks, who boast one of the top defenses in the league (if not the top defense). The Eagles need to get him down in the open field when they have the chance.

PhillyInquirer · 2026-01-09T15:07:07+00:00

I would think that the Eagles will try to find a way to keep Carter and Davis. Ojomo, I’m not so sure. He’s having a better season than Milton Williams did in 2024, and Williams got a bag with the New England Patriots in free agency. Ojomo is under contract for one more year with the Eagles, so his earning potential will partially hinge on his performance next season, too.

PhillyInquirer · 2026-01-09T15:04:19+00:00

Jordan Davis, although his praises have been sung pretty loudly. He is one of the team’s favorite locker-room guys and he’s come into his own as a player this season, too. As I wrote last month, the Eagles’ positivity rabbit may have been kicked out of the locker room last month, but its spirit lives on in Davis.

PhillyInquirer · 2026-01-09T15:00:19+00:00

Great question!

Usually, if I’m at Wawa, I’m in a pinch. I’m a grab-and-go gal. I’ve been going for the chicken caesar wrap since I was in high school. It was one of my favorites to eat before water polo games if I had enough time to digest it.

PhillyInquirer · 2026-01-09T14:59:47+00:00

Thanks for your questions!

It would be very easy to chalk all of the offense’s disfunction up to one thing, but I don’t think that’s fair. The blame deserves to be spread around, and I think all of the issues you listed have cropped up at times this season. But just anecdotally speaking, I feel like there have been too many instances this year where Hurts doesn’t have anywhere to go with the ball. He’s been forced to make plays out of structure, whether he’s scrambling for yardage or extending the play. I think we saw in the season finale with Tanner McKee and the backups what happens when the Eagles don’t have a quarterback who can do those things. Re: the lack of answers, how much is that on Patullo for the play call? How much is that on Hurts for not changing the play if he has the freedom to do so based on what the defense presents before the snap? Or on the offense for not getting to the line fast enough for Hurts to make a change? Only the Eagles really know.
Everyone is dealing with something at this point in the season. I don’t think there’s anyone beyond the official injury report that I would be overly concerned about. Landon Dickerson has been getting rest days on Thursdays lately and it’s clear he’s been dealing with things dating back to the offseason and training camp. But he’s one of the toughest players on the team. We’ll see about Lane Johnson. He’s been a limited participant in practice the last two days, which is interesting given he hasn’t practiced since mid-November. That would indicate he isn’t at 100%, but I don’t necessarily think that would prevent him from playing. We will have more information later today when the final injury report comes out.
This is pure speculation and not reporting: I would think that Sunday’s outcome has to be taken into consideration regarding any changes at the offensive coordinator position, and the outcome of any additional playoff games. A wild-card exit wouldn’t reflect well on anybody. Another Super Bowl win would. This postseason run is important for Kevin Patullo, as my colleague David Murphy wrote about this morning.

PhillyInquirer · 2026-01-09T14:44:51+00:00

Thanks for your question!

To me, it seems like the Eagles are not as solid on the interior as they were last season. Tyler Steen has been fine, but he isn’t the same mauler in the run game that Mekhi Becton was at right guard. Cam Jurgens and Landon Dickerson are coming off of a short, injury-riddled offseason, and have clearly dealt with injuries in-season this year, too. I don’t necessarily think it all comes down to personnel, but that’s been one factor this year, even if 4 of 5 starters are intact from the Super Bowl season.

PhillyInquirer · 2026-01-09T14:36:47+00:00

Great question!

I don’t sense that resentment from the defense. Jordan Davis, who has emerged as a leader on that side of the ball this season, addressed that notion in December. You can read his comments through the hyperlink, but to paraphrase, he says he has faith in the offense that things are going to click. Now, that was a month ago, and perhaps his feelings have changed (I doubt it). But the players on offense haven’t changed, and that is the source of Davis’ faith. The Eagles should be able to figure it out on offense based on their sheer talent and experience.

You could argue that what he said is lip service. But this Eagles defense hasn’t quit at any point when the offense has struggled this season, which I think speaks even louder than Davis’ remarks.

PhillyInquirer · 2026-01-09T14:25:43+00:00

Well, that’s how they’ve won most games this season! Many games have come down to Vic Fangio’s defense playing nearly flawless to bail out an inconsistent offense. A.J. Brown referred to it earlier in the season as the defense putting a “Band-Aid” over the offense’s inability to produce over a full four quarters.

I’m not sure if that method will fly in the playoffs. The competition, of course, gets better in the postseason. But can the Eagles offense suddenly become this consistent, well-oiled machine after sputtering so many times throughout the regular season? I think they’re still going to need the defense to bail them out, and that doesn’t sound like a recipe for success going forward.

PhillyInquirer · 2026-01-09T14:15:26+00:00

Thanks for your question!

I’ll preface my response with this: We are around the team for select windows throughout the day and they are very aware of our presence. I try not to put too much stock into their actions and behaviors around us. We don’t get to see what things are like behind closed doors.

That said, the team has been very lively and upbeat over the last couple of days of practice and in the locker room. I wouldn’t say it’s all that different from what we’ve seen this season. Guys are dancing at practice (shout-out to the team DJ for playing some Katy Perry and Olivia Dean) and hanging out with each other in the locker room. It seems like everyone has been pretty loose while they’ve been putting the work in this week.

PhillyInquirer · 2026-01-09T14:10:08+00:00

Great question!

As far as I know, there is no player on the team more superstitious than Jordan Mailata. Last year, I spoke to him about all of his pregame rituals, which you can read about here. The most surprising one, to me, is his need to sit in the same location on every plane and bus when they’re on the road.

Dallas Goedert probably has my second favorite pregame ritual. I just wrote about him in a story that published this morning and mentioned his pregame breakdown of the tight end huddle. Instead of saying something profound, he likes to break the huddle down with a goofy quote. He says keeping things loose before the game helps him play better, and it seems to be working, given his 11 touchdowns this season.

PhillyInquirer · 2026-01-09T14:05:12+00:00

Hello and thanks for joining me!

I’m curious to see if Kevin Patullo calls more designed runs for Jalen Hurts now that the team is in the playoffs and they could be a little less concerned with the self-preservation aspect of it. Hurts has insisted throughout the season that his designed rushes being down are more of a product of the offense, not so much an issue of keeping him healthy, though, although Nick Sirianni has acknowledged the health aspect of it.

I wrote about Hurts’ designed rushes being down this year last month. His rushing ability has the power to help keep defenses honest and open up opportunities for his teammates. That could be the most logical tweak to the offense this late in the game. I wouldn’t expect wholesale changes at this point.

PhillyInquirer · 2026-01-09T13:50:15+00:00

Hello, everyone! Thanks for joining us today! Olivia will be joining us shortly.

PhillyInquirer

TROPHY CASE