Things appeared to be all good just a day ago but the Philadelphia Eagles pivoted on Thursday, and decided it was time for a change.
In a statement from coach Doug Pederson, the Eagles announced that offensive coordinator Mike Groh and wide receivers coach Carson Walch had been relieved of their duties, a stark contrast to the comments Pederson made Wednesday. What a difference a day makes.
"After much consideration and discussion, I have decided to make a change at the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach positions," Pederson said. "It was not an easy decision for me to make and I appreciate everything Mike Groh and Carson Walch contributed to the organization and to my staff.
"As I said yesterday, they were a big part of our success down the stretch this past season. 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 also acknowledged and apologized for his comments on Groh and Walch in addition to defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who is in the running for the Browns' head coaching job. Pederson said on Wednesday that he assumed Schwartz will be back next season, despite no formal decision being made regarding his standing and the Eagles still evaluating the team top to bottom.
A lot of Pederson's statement was centered around walking back what he said 24 hours ago. Aside from stating outright that "both those guys will be back" in 2020, Pederson gave a vote of confidence for Groh and Walch during his press conference, giving the impression that he and team management were pleased with both coaches and willing to keep them in the fold.
"I think both of those guys did an outstanding job for me this year. 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," Pederson previously said. "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."
The 9-7 Eagles were ravaged by injuries for the better part of this season, most notably to their receiving corps. By the end of Week 14, all of their top wideouts (DeSean Jackson, Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor) were out of the lineup, leaving Carson Wentz to heavily rely on tight ends Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert and a hodge-podge mix of third-string and practice squad receivers. Still, the Eagles ended the year on a four-game win streak to win the NFC East, and make the postseason for a third straight year.
It was a rollercoaster of a year for Philly, and this latest development amplifies what is sure to be an interesting offseason for the Eagles.
