Eagles quarterbacks coach Press Taylor to be named pass game coordinator; former Broncos offensive coordinator to join staff
The Eagles have yet to fill the offensive coordinator position that was vacated when Mike Groh was fired last month. But they may not feel the need to have one.
Eagles quarterbacks coach Press Taylor will have the job of pass game coordinator added to his responsibilities, an NFL source said Wednesday.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network was first to report on Taylor’s promotion.
The Eagles are also expected to add former Broncos offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello to their staff, a source said. His title was unknown, although the Eagles will not fill the offensive coordinator position that was vacated when Mike Groh was fired last month, a source said.
Taylor will oversee the passing game, as Groh essentially did, and offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland will keep his job as run game coordinator. Head coach Doug Pederson is, in essence, the Eagles’ offensive coordinator. He signs off on the final game plan and calls plays and will retain that role in 2020.
The Eagles had interviewed many candidates over the last month, seemingly for the coordinator position. But few of the interviews became public. Southern Cal offensive coordinator Graham Harrell was one of the first to meet with the team, NFL sources said. It’s unclear if the Eagles offered him a job, but he decided to stay with the Trojans.
The Eagles also met with Ravens quarterbacks coach James Urban. He held the same position in Philly more than a decade ago. He, too, decided to stay in his current job.
Quarterback Josh McCown was offered the opportunity to stay with the Eagles as a coach during his exit interview following the season, sources said. It’s unclear if the position would have been as a coordinator. But the 40-year-old backup declined because he hasn’t made a decision on whether he wants to retire from football.
The Eagles had interest in interviewing Chiefs quarterbacks coach Mike Kafka, but they didn’t make a formal request because they had been made aware that Kansas City coach Andy Reid would block his assistant from leaving.
The Eagles might have had interest in the 49ers’ two offensive coordinators -- Mike McDaniel and Mike LeFleur -- but San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan was likely to block both from leaving. They are under contract for 2020.
The 49ers don’t have an offensive coordinator. Shanahan, like Pederson, runs their offense, and McDaniel is in charge of the run game and LeFleur the pass game. The Rams previously had this structure as well but added a coordinator last month.
Scangarello spent two years with Shanahan as the 49ers quarterbacks coach from 2017 to 2018. The Eagles spent some of their search looking at assistants who worked under the 49ers coach. Packers quarterbacks coach Luke Getsy was also on their radar, sources said.
Taylor, 32, was promoted from offensive quality control to quarterbacks coach in February 2018. He was credited with bringing the play that eventually became “Philly Special” to then-Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich and Pederson. Reich, after being named Colts head coach, said that he would have loved to bring Taylor to Indianapolis.
Scangarello, 47, has 20 years of coaching experience. He first worked in the NFL in 2009 with the Raiders. He was an offensive coordinator in college at various stops, including Northern Arizona and Wagner. He returned to the NFL with the Falcons in 2015 and joined the 49ers two years later.
He lasted only one year with the Broncos but was credited with rookie quarterback Drew Lock.
Scangarello called plays in Denver. The Broncos finished 28th in the NFL in total offense, 27th in scoring.