Clay sticking with the Eagles was not a foregone conclusion following Philadelphia’s disappointing wild-card exit from the playoffs, although outside Jake Elliott‘s individual struggles, special teams was certainly not causing problems for the Eagles.
Along with the defense, the unit often helped keep the Eagles in position to win, with the most obvious example being a narrow Week 3 victory over the Rams in which Clay’s group blocked a field goal on each of Los Angeles’ final two possessions. After the second such block, Jordan Davis took his own batted ball all the way back for a 61-yard touchdown as time expired.
Such success was part of the reason Clay drew interest from other organizations.
The Buccaneers notably interviewed Clay for their vacancy at special teams coordinator after receiving permission from the Eagles, but Tampa Bay will now have to look elsewhere.
Clay remains an Eagle, meaning Philly will only have to work on filling one coordinator position for now after telling Kevin Patullo it would be making a change at OC.