Eagles new offensive coordinator won’t be Duce Staley

Who are we to question Doug Pederson?

The man called the now infamous “Philly Special” pass from tight end Trey Burton to quarterback Nick Foles on fourth down in the Super Bowl for gods sake.

And so after the curse of winning bucked its ugly head on Pederson’s coaching staff with the Eagles — John DiFillippo went from Eagles QB coach to Vikings offensive coordinator replacing Pat Shurmur (the Giants new head coach) and Frank Reich went from Eagles OC to Colts head coach after Patriots OC Josh McDaniels backed out of the gig — Pederson had to make another big decision.

Who would run his offense? 

(A sidenote, running Doug Pederson’s offense will always be the job of Doug Pederson, who calls his own plays, but the Eagles did need a new offensive coordinator).

An extensive search it would not be, as the two main candidates down the stretch appeared to be running backs coach Duce Staley, the longest tenured coach on the team and fan favorite, and Mike Groh, a new addition to the staff last season along with Alshon Jeffery who had worked with Groh in Chicago.

A few big names even did some campaigning as Pederson interviewed the two candidates Monday.

But in a seeming surprise, Pederson went the other way appointing Groh, 46, to the position. The decision was first reported by ESPN’s Tim McManus.

Groh played college football but his coaching career started early, as he was an assistant for the Jets under his father, Al Groh. Following his father to the University of Virginia he held several assistant roles during a eight-year stint there, rising to the level of offensive coordinator at the age of 34. Since then, he’s coached wide receivers at the University of Alabama, the Bears, the Rams and the Eagles. 

It was also reported by McManus that Staley, 42, will remain at his post as running backs coach.