Doug Pederson
They’ll be back…
Mike Groh and Carson Walch have been two names who have come under plenty of fire this season, most of it with good reason. But when asked about their futures, the Eagles Head Coach seemed confident that both will return.
“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.
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.
Yes, both those guys will be back.”
I think it’s easier to make a case for Groh’s return. The Eagles offense transformed after losing their key playmakers into a style that was built around Carson Wentz. It helped Miles Sanders thrive by buying him more time behind the line of scrimmage, and got Wentz into open space far more regularly. He deserves credit for that.
As for Carson Walch? I’ll um….I’ll reserve judgment and leave that to the people who see him working every day. But when there was a notable more ‘vocal’ style of leadership out of nowhere one week, it tells me he at least got a firm talking to on one occasion.
Bye Jimmer?
As we all know, Jim Schwartz is interviewing with the Cleveland Browns for their Head Coaching Vacancy. When asked about the situation, Pederson didn’t seem overly confident that he’d return.
“Obviously, I love the fact that guys around the league and teams around the league are looking to my staff for possible head coaching candidates. First, Frank Reich [current Indianapolis Colts Head Coach and former Eagles Offensive Coordinator] a couple years ago and now Jim, [who is] a former head coach. I think he would make a tremendous head coach again, and his leadership and obviously what he has brought to me and how I have been able to lean on him through his experiences as a former head coach. Jim has done an outstanding job with our defense, obviously, and the improvement that we saw throughout the course of this season. I’m excited for him and his opportunity and wish him the best.”
The Eagles do have Matt Burke onboard, a disciple of Schwartz and the former Dolphins defensive coordinator, so not all would be immediately lost, but finding a long-term replacement wouldn’t exactly be easy.
QB2
With Josh McCown likely finally ending an illustrious career, the Eagles are back to square one. It’s almost as if we forgot that Nate Sudfeld was the heir to the backup throne, but now he’s a pending free agent…and the Eagles have a decision to make. Is he really ready to step up?
“First of all, I appreciate everything that Josh McCown did and brought to this team and this organization. His mentoring with Carson [Wentz] was second-to-none. Sometimes you have relationships where the coach-to-player relationship is different than the player-to-player relationship, and I think he and Carson had a tremendous relationship all season and it really helped [Carson] perform at a high level.
With Nate, it was unfortunate with the injury that happened at the end of [training] camp. I felt like Nate was poised and ready to be the No. 2 here for us. We’ll see what happens this offseason with him. With Kyle, we get a chance to work with him this offseason and see what he can do. But you know, it was a great group. It was a great room. They did an outstanding job this year for us.”
The Eagles also want to get back to drafting one QB per year, apparently…now while Lauletta could fill that void, we can at least expect some competition. Wentz doesn’t need a veteran arm, but he does need a competent one. Whether or not that arm is Sudfeld, remains to be seen.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
