PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE NFL : Lurie, Vermeil Talk About Eagle Job

Philadelphia Eagle owner Jeffrey Lurie has talked to former Coach Dick Vermeil about returning to the team, and Vermeil says he’s interested, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Sunday.

Vermeil, 58, the only coach to take the Eagles to the Super Bowl, had kept quiet about his intentions but said he became interested during a three-hour meeting with Lurie on Friday, the newspaper reported.

“I went into the meeting without an interest, and I came out of the meeting with an interest,� said Vermeil, Eagle coach from 1976-1982.

“We discussed the possibilities of general manager or general manager and coach,� Vermeil said.

He said he and Lurie agreed to think it over for a week or two before making a decision.

Lurie refused to comment on “our coaching situation� after the Eagles’ 33-30 loss to Cincinnati on Saturday. But he did say he had spoken with Vermeil, a college football analyst for ABC-TV.

“He’s acting in an advisory capacity,� Lurie said. “That doesn’t mean after an advisory capacity . . . nothing is precluded. I think Dick Vermeil is such a valuable asset to the NFL that certainly anyone would have to consider such a person with that insight.�

Lurie said he had not offered a job to Vermeil but had talked to him about the “Eagles’ future.�

Lurie’s advisers have told him not to make an offer to Vermeil until they’re sure he would accept.

Meanwhile, Lurie and Eagle Coach Rich Kotite are scheduled to meet today, two days after the Eagles blew a 17-point lead to lose to the Bengals in the last game of what had started as a promising season. It was probably Kotite’s last game as Eagle coach.

Kotite had hoped to preserve his record of no losing seasons with Philadelphia. Instead, the Eagles wound up 7-9 after the wacky ending.

“I thought it was very important,� Kotite told the Associated Press. “If we could have gotten to 8-8, I think it meant an awful lot. But it didn’t and it’s unbelievable the way it didn’t happen.�

Lurie acknowledged the meeting with Kotite. “We’re going to sit down and talk it out,� the owner said.

Vermeil left coaching in 1982, two years after leading the Eagles to a 12-4 season and a trip to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the Oakland Raiders, 27-10.