December 11, 2020
When the Eagles take the field on Sunday afternoon against the Saints, the weather will be a bit warmer and the crisp that typically fills the air in mid-December will be replaced by something else: change.
That's because for the first time since he was drafted back in 2016, a healthy Carson Wentz will not be under center for the Eagles, instead being replaced by rookie second-round pick Jalen Hurts, who took over for the struggling Eagles quarterback in the second half of the team's Week 13 loss to the Packers.
Whether or not this becomes a permanent change that lasts beyond the final month of a lost 2020 campaign remains to be seen — given Wentz's contract situation, it's not hard to envision a scenario where he enters next season as the starter once again. But much of that depends on what happens over the course of sixty minutes each Sunday from now through the New Year.
Wentz's job, however, is hardly the only one hanging in the balance over the final month of the season. The decision-makers in Philly are also in danger of being sacked depending on what happens next — and an argument can be made that their fates should already be sealed, and that not even an MVP-level run from Hurts should be enough to save them.
The one thing that seems constant, however, is that the hammer is more likely to fall on Doug Pederson than Howie Roseman. Last week, we wrote about a report that put Pederson squarely on the hot seat while making no mention of the Eagles GM. On Thursday, another such report surfaced with sources saying they "legitimately can't believe" that Pederson would be on the hot seat so soon after leading the franchise to its first ever Super Bowl title in 2018.
But with the Birds sitting at 3-8-1 with just a quarter of the season remaining, that's where things currently stand. Here's more from ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano:
All this does not bode well for Pederson, who presides over this disaster along with general manager Howie Roseman.
Several people around the league legitimately can’t believe that Pederson would be on the hot seat after a Super Bowl win and three straight playoff appearances. His pedigree should buy him one bad season, they say. One source believed that the relationship can still be salvaged and that Pederson and Roseman could coexist with perhaps more tweaks to the coaching staff to balance things out.
But somebody probably has to take the fall for the regression of the franchise quarterback, and signs, at least for now, say that Pederson could end up being that guy. [espn.com]
They then list several reasons as to why Pederson, and not Roseman, would be on the chopping block, including one that doesn't so much speak to Roseman's talent as a general manager, but rather his business savvy and ability position himself in a way that someone else is taking the fall. It's actually quite impressive when viewed through that lens.
Roseman has been with the team a lot longer and has survived previous tricky situations involving team struggles and GM-coach power dynamics. Team owner Jeffrey Lurie has a lot of history with Roseman, and there's thought that if only one of them makes it out of this, Roseman is the more likely survivor. [espn.com]
But wait, there's more.
This was a monster story, covering pretty much every current and potential head coach opening in the NFL. And toward the end, they had a section specifically for front offices, mentioning organizations around the NFL that could be in need of a new top executive. The Eagles, however, were not even among the teams listed as having a potential opening in their front office.
The Texans, Falcons, Lions and Jaguars have all fired GMs since the start of the season. Other places that could see a change at GM include Carolina, Chicago and the Giants. It's possible that Washington will hire a GM this offseason. There could be more turnover at that position than at head coach, which means sweeping changes in several organizations. [espn.com]
The Eagles, who have a worse record than all but one of the above teams (the Jaguars), are conspicuously missing from this list. And making this even more interesting is the fact that this isn't the first time Roseman's name has been left out of reports like this when it's it hard to look at the Eagles aging, expensive roster and place the entirety of the blame at the feet of Pederson, an offensive-minded coach who has had just one starter, center Jason Kelce, play every game this season.
Perhaps this is some more savvy maneuvering from Roseman, getting out in front of it and controlling the message behind the scenes rather than being the one people are talking about in public. Pederson, for better or worse, doesn't seem like the kind of guy to get involved in backroom dealings like that. Howie, on the other hand, the guy who has managed to survive several regime changes, years of sub-par drafting, and questionable roster construction, seems to be quite adept at playing the game.
At some point, it has to catch up to him — and it could very well be this offseason — but based on the reports that have been coming out so far, it seems like he could be the one to survive this mess ... again.
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