Takeaways from Eagles Post-Mortem
PHILADELPHIA (973espn.com) - General manager Howie Roseman and head coach Doug Pederson performed an autopsy on the Eagles 2019 season Wednesday at the NovaCare Complex.
Here are some of the key takeaways:
Jim Schwartz's future in doubt:
-Schwartz is under contract for 2020 but in Cleveland Wednesday to interview with the Browns, ostensibly for the head-coaching job but Cleveland will also be doing due diligence on the veteran defensive mind as a potential coordinator for Josh McDaniels or Kevin Stefanski.
Pederson was very vague when discussing whether Schwartz will be back in 2020.
"I love the fact that guys around the league and teams around the league are looking to my staff for possible head coaching candidates," the coach said. "I think he would make a tremendous head coach again."
Pederson commits to Mike Groh and Carson Walch:
There was no ambiguity from Pederson when it came to offensive coordinator Mike Groh and embattled receivers coach Carson Walch.
"My hat goes off to both of those gentlemen," Pederson said. "For guys to basically come off our practice roster to be elevated to game status, that's not easy to do. And these two gentlemen did an outstanding job. Both will be back."
Roseman calls season disappointing but takes pride in what Eagles have accomplished:
“We stand up here with a range of emotions,” Roseman said. “I think the first emotion is disappointment. Disappointment that we’re not practicing this week for the Green Bay Packers and disappointment that we did not achieve our goals that we set out when we started training camp.
"And I think when you have a disappointing season, it’s not just on the players and coaches, it’s also on the front office and that starts with me and I’m sorry to our fans, they give us tremendous support.”
Roseman takes stock on injuries:
"The last two years, the injuries have really hurt our football team," Roseman said. "... We have to figure out a way to get better here. Hope is not a strategy when it comes to injuries."
Roseman noted Chief Medical Officer Arsh Dhanota came on board back in June to observe the season and recommend potential changes.
"We’ve hired a new chief medical officer," Roseman said. “This is someone that we are very, very excited to have. He came in in June, and what he asked for us was that he would observe, observe through the season, observe our training staff, observe our weight staff, our sports science, our processes and make recommendations to us that we would carry out.”
Why the Eagles guaranteed Alshon Jeffery's 2020 salary back in September:
"We had a conversation with Alshon before the season and he took a [pay] cut in exchange for more guarantees," Roseman explained. "We were trying to create as much flexibility as possible going forward."
Roseman on drafting J.J. Arcega-Whiteside over other receivers like D.K. Metcalf:
"This offseason is really important for [Arcega-Whiteside]," he noted. "I don't think we saw the best of J.J. At the same token, there have been some successful WRs from this draft. We don't bury our head in the sand on that."
Pederson doesn't play Sean Payton on Jadeveon Clowney hit on Carson Wentz:
"When I saw it again on Monday, it's unfortunate," Pederson said. "Listen, it's part of our game. It happens. It gets missed. I'm disappointed for Carson. I'm not gonna focus on the past. I'm not gonna dwell on one hit, one game."
Roseman on shifting landscape:
He acknowledged that the organization believed the championship window was open between 2017-19 and things are shifting a bit now with the team needing to add youth and speed.
"We've got to study everything," Roseman said." ... One of the things again, is just having the opportunity to have a little bit more resources in terms of draft picks than we've had in the past.
"... [This season] is a great lesson. ... We have to allow these young players to grow and get some experience."
As far as the draft Roseman is excited to have volume after a two consecutive years with five draft picks.
“I think that the big things for us, because haven’t had a lot of picks, we have to hit on more of them,” Roseman said. “And volume is important to us going forward."
Roseman: "I wasn't good enough."
When asked about his own performance Roseman was honest: "We're not playing right now. That wasn't our goal, that wasn't our expectation. I will do a better job."
Praise for Malcolm:
Defensive leader Malcolm Jenkins made news on clean-out day by declaring he wouldn't be back for the final year of his current contract which he believes he has outperformed. Roseman offered glowing praise for the 32-year-old safety foreshadowing a positive outcome.
"What an incredible Eagle, what an incredible player," Roseman said of Jenkins. "What an incredible person he is."
-John McMullen covers the Eagles and the NFL for 973espn.com. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen