Doug Pederson Fires Two Assistants

PHILADELPHIA – A day after Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said that offensive coordinator Mike Groh and receivers coach Carson Walch would return in 2020, Pederson changed direction.

He released a statement on Thursday afternoon saying that both assistants are out.

"After much consideration and discussion, I have decided to make a change at the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach positions,” Pederson said in the statement.

“It was not an easy decision for me to make and I appreciate everything that Mike Groh and Carson Walch contributed to the organization and to my staff. As I said (Wednesday), they were a big part of our success down the stretch this past season.”

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— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) January 9, 2020

There has been no job security as the team’s receivers coach since Pederson was hired in 2016.

The next receivers coach Pederson hires will be his fifth.

He has gone through Greg Lewis, Groh, who was elevated to OC after Frank Reich was hired to coach the Colts, Gunter Brewer, and now Walch.

“This is one of the most difficult parts of the job and something that weighs on me, but ultimately I have to make decisions that I believe are in the best interest of the football team moving forward," Pederson said in the statement

Asked specifically on Wednesday, when Pederson and general manager Howie Roseman met with reporters for more than 30 minutes, if Groh and Walch would return, Pederson said: “Yes, both those guys will be back.”

Pederson praised both on Wednesday.

“I think both of those guys did an outstanding job for me this year,” Pederson said. “There were a lot of things we faced on offense as you know, through adversity, through injury, through many different facets of trying to get the pieces together. So my hat goes off to both of those gentlemen because of the game plans that Mike and I and the offensive staff put together, first of all.

"Then here towards the end of the season, Carson Walch having a big impact on getting these young players ready to go and to play at a high level. That's not easy. For guys to basically come off our practice roster, who were within weeks of being on our roster or being on the practice squad, to be elevated to game status, it's not easy to do, and these two gentlemen did an outstanding job for me, for the team, and really put us in a position to be in the postseason here at the end of the year.”

Later in Wednesday’s new conference, Pederson seemed to reverse course when he was asked about defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz’s status on returning.

Schwartz interviewed for the head coaching job in Cleveland on Wednesday.

Asked if Schwartz did not get the Browns job if he would want Schwartz back as the DC, Pederson wasn’t as strong as he was earlier in the news conference regarding Groh and Walch.

“With all my staff guys, I'm in that process of evaluating and would love to have them all back, obviously,” said Pederson. “We know what this league is about, and any time an assistant coach can get a promotion, whether it's here or somewhere else, I encourage that.

“But as I evaluate and, look we're only three days removed from the season so everything is still fresh on my mind, too, so we are still evaluating. All my coaches are in that evaluation process, as well.”

Since it wasn’t the same ringing endorsement he had given for Groh and Walch, Pederson was pressed on the matter.

"I know what I said, but at the same time, I'm still evaluating the whole process,” said Pederson. “They are still currently here and I'm going to continue to evaluate and assemble the best staff moving forward. But currently, yes, they are still here.”

And now they are not.

“I apologize for any confusion that I created during Wednesday’s press conference, including my comments on coach Schwartz, who has done a great job as our defensive coordinator,” said Pederson's statement on Thursday. “It was my intent not to comment on any of my staff during the ongoing evaluations, because I wanted to be able to go through the process and communicate any decision directly with the individuals.

“I did a poor job of explaining that the first time I was asked. I will continue to evaluate everything and consider all possibilities to improve our football team."

Now in the market for an OC, the Eagles could turn in several directions.

They could go outside the organization and try to bring back John DeFilippo, who was Carson Wentz’s first quarterback coach in 2016 and worked with him tin that same capacity in 2017. DeFilippo is the Jaguars offensive coordinator.

The Eagles could also promote the popular Duce Staley, who is the assistant head coach/running back coach. Groh was hired over Staley in 2018, and that is when Staley was given the additional title of assistant head coach.

The team could even surprise everyone and promote offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland, who has the additional title of run game coordinator.

Either way, it is one more offseason storyline to watch with the Eagles.

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