The only definitive answer Pederson gave in his season-ending news conference Wednesday regarded Groh and Walsh:
“Both those guys will be back.”
Pederson, who loves making guarantees, flatly declined to offer the same guarantee to defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. That was before Pederson met with Lurie on Thursday.
After that meeting, Groh and Walch were gone, Schwartz was assured a job in Philadelphia if he didn’t get the head-coaching job he interviewed for in Cleveland, and Pederson had to release a statement that made him look like a blithering idiot.
Loved that part about “Much discussion.” Yeah. No kidding.
Guess who hired Jim Schwartz when Pederson took over in 2016? Jeffrey Robert Lurie. He even gave Schwartz his own news conference — in the same room and on the same day as Pederson’s. Jim Schwartz has not been Doug Pederson’s subordinate for one second.
Hence, the blithering idiot press release. Except Doug Pederson is not a blithering idiot.
He’s also not a true head coach.
True head coaches pick their staffs. At least, if they skew toward one side of the ball, they get to pick their assistants. Schwartz might decide the fate of defensive backs coach Corey Undlin, but Pederson should be able to choose his game-planner and receivers coach.
Don’t be fooled. He won’t get to choose them this time, either. Oh, he’ll endorse whomever Lurie and general manager Howie Roseman (and Wentz) hire, be it Redskins failure Jay Gruden, or former coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, or maybe Chiefs quarterbacks coach Mike Kafka, whose ties to the Eagles and the Legend of Andy Reid run deep.
