Eagles offensive coordinator Mike Groh and wide receivers coach Carson Walch have both been fired.
One day earlier, head coach Doug Pederson said neither was in danger of being fired.
“Both those guys will be back,” Pederson said Tuesday.
In a prepared statement, Pederson explained the decisions:
“After much consideration and discussion, I have decided to make a change at the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach positions. 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 (Tuesday), 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.”
Why say both will be back and then fire them the next day?
“I apologize for any confusion that I created during yesterday’s press conference, including my comments on Coach Schwartz, who has done a great job as our defensive coordinator,” Pederson said. “It was my intent to not 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.”
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Groh has been with Pederson for three years, first as wide receivers coach and the last two years as offensive coordinator. Walch spent this past year as wide receivers coach.
The Eagles ranked 16th in scoring, 22nd in yards per play and 12th in total yards in two years under Groh.
Without most of the original starting lineup, they were 12th in scoring, 14th in total yards and 21st in yards per play this year.
Duce Staley is an obvious candidate to replace Groh. Staley, a three-time 1,000-yard rusher for the Eagles, currently holds the title of assistant head coach and running backs coach.
Whoever becomes the Eagles’ wide receivers coach will be the sixth in six years and fifth in five years under Pederson, following Greg Lewis in 2016, Groh in 2017, Gunter Brewer in 2018 and Walch in 2019.
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