Pederson Picks Mike Groh

PHILADELPHIA (973espn.com) - The Eagles have decided to promote Mike Groh to offensive coordinator, according to ESPN's Tim McManus.

Head coach Doug Pederson has been mulling over his options since losing both Frank Reich and John DeFilippo less than a week after winning Super Bowl LII.

Groh, the team's receivers coach, and Duce Staley, the running backs coach, were always considered the leading in-house candidates.

Staley has the history in the organization as an excellent player who developed into a solid assistant after starting as a special teams quality control coach in 2011.

Groh, on the other hand, came to the organization in 2017 while Staley was already entrenched, getting his first deal as an assistant in 2011, being promoted to RB coach in 2013 and having that deal rolled over in 2015 and again in 2017.

Groh's history of being the son of the well-respected Al Groh, as well as playing the quarterback position in college at Virginia and also coaching it in college was the more traditional route as far as advancing to OC, however.

Of all the current NFL offensive coordinators, only one -- Kansas City's Eric Bienemy -- was elevated with a resume that was heavy on mentoring running backs.

Pederson calls his own plays but Groh will take on Reich's former role of doing the heaving lifting when it comes to game-planning during the week.

Groh was also a former offensive coordinator on the college level at Virginia from 2006-2008 and had settled in as a receivers coach for Chicago, the Los Angeles Rams and the Eagles since debuting in the pros in 2013.

Grosh was involved with the passing game of the Rams and has a history as a QB coach as well at both Virginia and Lousiville.

WATKINS WILL NOT BE TENDERED

With NFL free agency rapidly approaching, the Eagles have decided not to tender pending restricted free agent defensive back Jaylen Watkins.

Watkins proved to be a versatile defender with the ability to play cornerback and safety and could still be brought back at a lesser price than an original-round tender. As of now, however, he's now scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent come March 14.

-John McMullen covers the Eagles and the NFL for 973espn.com. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen