Doug Pederson knew his Eagles needed a change offensively, and he expects it to be noticeable come fall.
Pederson fired offensive coordinator Mike Groh following Philadelphia's postseason exit, which completed a season in which the Eagles were only slightly above average offensively. The coach is now aiming for an offense that resembles the 2019 NFC champions, not the NFC East champions.
"I think what we've done as a staff in the offseason with our scheme evaluation, making things better, the staff hires that I've done to bring in new thoughts and new ideas and ways to enhance our offense, I think (the offense) is going to look a little bit different," Pederson recently said, via the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Philadelphia ranked 16th in passing yards, 11th in rushing yards and 12th in total touchdowns scored in 2019, good enough to sneak into the playoffs by way of winning a bad division. That was as far as these banged-up Eagles would go, though, with the loss of Carson Wentz serving as their final significant injury and ultimately their undoing.
Pederson's description of changes made is vague, sure, but when combined with expected health improvements -- it can't get much worse than what the Eagles had to endure last season -- offensive changes have to be encouraging.
The people involved are a good reason for a positive outlook. Rich Scangarello comes to Philadelphia with a background that includes a few years spent (2015, 2017-2018) with 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, who just led San Francisco to Super Bowl LIV with an excellently schemed offensive attack. It's fair to expect Scangarello to bring similar concepts to the Eagles, where he'll serve as senior offensive assistant under Pederson.
"I'm excited to get his insight and what he can bring to this offense and how we can become more explosive and more dynamic," Wentz said of Scangarello. "I can tell in the brief conversations I've had with him that he's a smart guy and that he knows what he's talking about."
Arrivals of staffers like Scangarello won't just be a waving of a magic wand, but different lines of thinking could help the Eagles move out of a fairly stagnant state to one that can utilize up-and-comer Miles Sanders and their rejuvenated receiving corps. The window remains open now for the Eagles, who must attack it in order to keep pace with Dallas and defend their division title.
