Philadelphia Eagles: Does Duce Staley deserve offensive coordinator job?

If the Philadelphia Eagles move on from offensive coordinator Mike Groh this offseason, his replacement may already be on the coaching staff.

Ever since Mike Groh was promoted from wide receivers coach to offensive coordinator heading into the 2018 season, he’s arguably been the top scapegoat for the Philadelphia Eagles shortcomings on offense.

An offensive resurgence at the end of last season more than likely saved Groh’s job, as the offense looked like a shell of what it was during the 2017 campaign when Frank Reich was the offensive coordinator.

But unfortunately, the offensive inconsistencies have continued into this season, and while most of the blame may be on Doug Pederson since he has the most control over the offense and calls the plays, there’s little to no chance he gets fired this offseason.

Despite the abundance of injuries and the up-and-down play of quarterback Carson Wentz, there will most likely be changes to the offensive coaching staff this offseason.

The offense has simply been too anemic and predictable to go into next year with the same exact coaches calling the shots, meaning something needs to change once the offseason gets underway.

Groh again seems like the most likely candidate to bite the bullet, but the front office may not have too look far at all for his replacement.

If Groh is fired, running backs coach Duce Staley seems like to perfect fit to fill the offensive coordinator vacancy, and it would make sense for a few reasons.

First, the Eagles tend to promote from within when it comes to filling out their coaching staff, as this is exactly how Groh landed the offensive coordinator job in the first place by being promoted from wide receivers coach to offensive coordinator during the 2018 offseason.

Second, Staley will likely get offers for offensive coordinator positions around the league this offseason. If the front office doesn’t pull the trigger on naming him the team’s next offensive coordinator, there’s no doubt that another team will try to pry him away from Philly.

Losing Staley would be detrimental for obvious reasons, and finding an adequate replacement for him would not be easy if he were to end up elsewhere for the 2020 season.

Staley has played along with coached in this city, and he clearly wants to be here for the long haul.

Looking at what Staley has been able to accomplish as the running backs coach, he seems capable of finally bring some creativity back into this lifeless offense, especially in the ground game.

Time will tell when it comes to seeing what the Eagles end up doing with Groh, but if the job does become open, Staley seems like a candidate who deserves immediate consideration.