The Philadelphia Eagles raised eyebrows last week when it was announced Shaun Huls was joining the team as a "sports science coordinator."
Huls trained Navy SEALS in his prior gig, and he will work alongside Eagles strength coach Josh Hingst. Still, the biggest question remains: What does a sports science coordinator do, exactly?
Eagles coach Chip Kelly addressed that during his Monday press conference.
"The game of football has evolved, and I think we as coaches have to evolve with it," Kelly said. "To always harken back to 'Well, we did it because that's how it's always done. I never bought into that theory, in my mind. I want to know why we do things, and everything we do, whether it's the athletic room, the conditioning room to anything that touches this football team.
"And the only answer I won't accept is because we've always done it that way. If you look back just 50 years ago, people trained in football weren't allowed to have water during the game. There was a bucket on the sideline and you had a ladle and you scooped it out, and you had a sip, but if you drank water you were soft.
"Obviously, we've evolved from a science standpoint, and I think there's a lot of other sports that have evolved faster than football has evolved from a science standpoint, and we want to be on the cutting edge of that."
Huls previously served as the strength, conditioning and "combatives" coordinator for Navy Special Warfare. If he's qualified for that, we imagine he can handle a cheeseburger-adoring defensive lineman.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.
