Eagles Changes in Jeffrey Lurie's hands
The Eagles’ loss in Miami on Sunday will leave a mark of some kind, maybe an overhaul of the coaching staff or a tearing down of the roster, perhaps some tweaks in the front office or a little of all three.
Forget making a run and winning the final four games to win the NFC East and limp into the playoffs at 9-7.
This is a team that hasn’t won two in a row all season and its current three-game slide is the longest losing streak since they lost five in a row from Nov. 20 through Dec. 18 in head coach Doug Pederson’s first season back in 2016.
Either way, something should happen. The Eagles can’t fool themselves into thinking they have turned a corner even if they do win out.
Something needs to happen, just not now because nothing will immediately save this team from its impending doom.
Any moves will be end-of-season storylines, and will have to be initiated by owner Jeffrey Lurie, who probably wouldn’t fire head coach Doug Pederson or general manager Howie Roseman after giving both men contract extensions on Aug. 5, 2018.
That doesn’t mean he can’t reverse course. He did it abruptly with Chip Kelly, canning the coach with one game left in the 2015 regular season.
Winning the first Super Bowl title in franchise history will buy Pederson at least another year.
Roseman has been with Lurie in various capacities since the start of this century, but maybe Lurie could change Roseman’ role to a salary cap manager or something and hand the GM reins to somebody else.
Again, though, that probably wouldn’t happen for at least another year or longer, given the history between the two.
Lurie, though, could insist on some major shakeups, such as the possible removal of offensive coordinator Mike Groh or defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz or maybe both.
Certainly every assistant on the staff will be under intense scrutiny, none more so perhaps than receivers coach Carson Walch and defensive backs coach Cory Undlin.
Right now, there isn’t much that’s going to happen.
Pederson said on Monday that he isn’t planning on any coaching changes this week.
As for personnel, well, there might be something forthcoming, but what could he do that would make such a drastic impact?
“We have time to deal with that, so obviously we’ll take a look, but as of right now, (Monday), no,” said Pederson.
Pederson won’t make any lineup changes just for the sake of making a change.
When asked about shaking things up, he said: “A shake-up, I know what you're saying. You're talking about sending a message. No, I don't. I think everything that is - it's all self-inflicted.
"Even the plays that they made, our players were in position to make those plays, we just didn't. They executed, we didn't. So that to me doesn't deserve any kind of shakeup.”
One thing Pederson said he would do is challenge, once again, a leadership group that includes safety Malcolm Jenkins, defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, defensive end Brandon Graham, left tackle Jason Peters, and others to keep the team focused on the final four games.
“Where this team is, this will be great for our leadership right now where we are,” said Pederson. “From my standpoint, leading the football team and then challenging the leaders of the team to really embrace this time and to really challenge the guys and say, ‘Hey, we have four games left, a month of this season.’
“By no means are we - we're not throwing in the towel. We have a lot of football left. We have a great opportunity. There is still a chance for us. We control our own destiny. So that's going to be the message moving forward to this football team, and the leaders have to embrace that and they have to also take it to the team as well.”
It feels too little, too late for this group of players and coaching staff.
