Defensive Line

Temple football coach Matt Rhule on Monday officially announced the addition of assistant coaches Allen Mogridge, Brandon Noble and Marcus Satterfield to his staff. Rhule also announced that Ed Foley was promoted to assistant head coach, Francis Brown was named a full-time assistant coach, and Sean Padden was hired as director of football operations. Foley had been Temple's director of operations the last two seasons. Brown served as a graduate assistant last year, and Padden spent the last five years in the pharmaceutical industry and was the defensive line coach at Monsignor Bonner High School in 2012.

Here is how Chip Kelly's new Eagles coaching staff, unofficial so far, appears to be shaping up: Head coach: Chip Kelly Offensive coordinator: Pat Shurmur Defensive coordinator: Billy Davis Quarterbacks: Bill Lazor Wide receivers: Bob Bicknell Running backs: Duce Staley Tight ends: Ted Williams Offensive line: Jeff Stoutland Defensive line: Jerry Azzinaro Linebackers: Rick Minter Secondary: Bill McGovern ...

ANTONIO DIXON landed in Philadelphia at 12:55 a.m. on Wednesday, still full from a Christmas dinner with his mother, brother and sister in Miami. For Dixon, a spot on the Eagles' roster and a fresh hotel bed - even if it meant arriving at 2 o'clock in the morning and having to report to the NovaCare Complex 4 hours later for a physical - were the two best Christmas gifts he has received in years. The Eagles signed the defensive tackle to a 2-year contract on Wednesday, commencing his second go-around with the team after being one of the last cuts in training camp in August.

Jason Babin continues to jab the Eagles from afar, and this time his comments were directed toward the organization's view of him and ousted defensive line coach Jim Washburn. The Eagles signed Babin to a five-year, $28 million contract in 2011 and waived him Nov. 27, citing the desire to play younger players. On Wednesday he praised the Jacksonville Jaguars, who claimed him off waivers, and implied that the Eagles thought no one wanted him. "That was probably their approach because they don't have amicable splits with people," Babin said during a conference call with Tennessee reporters.

College coaching veteran Phil Snow will become Temple's new defensive coordinator, sources confirmed Monday. The California native spent the last three seasons as Eastern Michigan's defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. Snow, 57, replaces Chuck Heater, who left to become the defensive coordinator at Marshall. Heater reportedly was not offered the coordinator's job with the Owls after head coach Matt Rhule was hired last month. Snow comes to Temple with 17 years of coaching experience, including stops in the NFL and the Pac-10.

FORMER EAGLES defensive tackle Hollis Thomas will be an assistant coach for the Soul this season. Thomas, 39, will work with the Soul's defensive line in a part-time capacity that also will allow him to continue as an occasional host for 94WIP radio. "I think it's going to be fun," said Thomas, who played for the Eagles from 1996-2005. "I had a lot of good D-line coaches and it's my duty to try to pass along some of that knowledge. " Thomas made the Eagles as an undrafted free agent out of Northern Illinois and was a key member of some of those great Jim Johnson-led defenses in the early 2000s.

Ray Rhodes has resigned as defensive coordinator in Denver, in an apparent shake-up of the Broncos' defensive staff, ESPN reported on its Web site. Assistant head coach George Dyer, considered one of the better defensive-line coaches in football, also is leaving. He will join the Detroit Lions as their defensive-line coach. "Ray Rhodes has resigned as defensive coordinator because he felt like he wasn't getting the job done," the Broncos said in a statement. Rhodes, a former head coach of both the Eagles and the Green Bay Packers, started the season with one of the strongest defenses in football.

Andy Reid said Friday it was "hindsight" to suggest he could have fixed his defense earlier, and maybe saved the Eagles' season, by firing defensive-line coach Jim Washburn and scuttling the wide-nine before he eventually did so, on Dec. 3. Reid didn't say it was "wrong. " He just said it was "hindsight. " Then Reid talked about how, with the defensive line in a normal formation, and the linemen not blindly making a beeline for the quarterback, life is much easier for the safeties and even the corners.

Villanova football coach Andy Talley on Friday announced three changes to the Wildcats coaching staff. Billy Crocker was promoted from linebackers coach to defensive coordinator. Roc Bellantoni was hired to coach the defensive line and special teams, and Tony Trisciani will be the secondary coach. Crocker, who just completed his seventh season at Villanova, earned his second promotion in two seasons. After serving as the defensive line coach for six years, Crocker was elevated to linebackers coach and special teams coordinator in 2011.