Report: Groh promoted to OC, Staley remains RB’s coach

By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor

On Monday, a report surfaced that Philadelphia Eagles coach Doug Pederson was interviewing wide receivers coach Mike Groh and running backs coach Duce Staley for the vacant offensive coordinator position. While many believed Staley is most deserving of the spot due to his background in the organization and his work with the team's running backs over the years, it looks like Pederson is going in the other direction. 

According to Tim McManus of ESPN, Doug Pederson plans to promote Mike Groh to offensive coordinator while Duce Staley will remain in his current position with the running backs.

This news comes just a little over a week after the Eagles promoted Press Taylor to quarterbacks coach.

Groh did a phenomenal job with the Eagles wide receivers last season. Alshon Jeffery had a great year, catching nine touchdowns, his most since the 2014-15 season. The biggest resurgence with the wideouts was Nelson Agholor. After being picked in the first round by the Eagles in 2015, Agholor had two forgettable seasons that saw him score a total of three touchdowns. This season, he moved to the slot and had a breakout season, catching 62 passes for 768 yards and eight touchdowns during the regular season. He capped off his regular season performance with 15 catches on 18 targets in the postseason, including nine catches for 84 yards in the Super Bowl.

ESPN's Adam Caplan notes that Groh had impact on third-down offense in his first season in addition to other situations. The Eagles led the NFL in third-down conversions at 60.5 percent (26-for-43)

Groh, 46, began his coaching career as an assistant for his dad with the Jets in 2000. After a stints in college with Virginia, Alabama and Louisville, Groh served on the coaching staffs with the Chicago Bears (2013-16) and Rams (2016) before joining the Eagles as the wide receivers coach on January 21, 2017. 

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