Odds Favor Eagles Firing Offensive Coordinator Mike Groh After Season
- The Eagles offense has scored 10 or fewer points in two straight games
- Under OC Mike Groh, Philadelphia had the seventh-best offense in 2017
- Key injuries to Agholor, Jeffery hasn’t helped in Philly’s struggles on offense
The Philadelphia Eagles are built for offense, but it has completely disappeared of late.
Heading into Week 13 of the NFL season, the Eagles are in the bottom half of the league in scoring (22.1 PPG, 18th) and total yards (338.4 YPG, 23rd) and blame for the team’s struggles has fallen on the shoulders of offensive coordinator Mike Groh.
In fact, recent odds favor the Eagles OC being fired after the season.
Is there any value in taking +150 that Groh will keep his job despite the team averaging 338.4 total yards per game?
Odds Eagles Fire OC Mike Groh After 2019 Season
| Outcome | Odds |
|---|---|
| Yes | -200 |
| No | +150 |
Odds taken Nov. 28.
It’s been a tough year for Philadelphia, to say the very least, as the Eagles offense ranks 23rd overall in the league this season. The Eagles have dropped their last two games and sit second in the NFC East with a sub.-500 record (5-6).
Groh is currently in his third season with the Eagles and,by contrast, this has been his worst from a yardage-production standpoint.
How Has Philly’s Offense Fared Under Groh?
In 2017, the Eagles were seventh overall in total yards, averaging 365.8 per game en route to winning the Super Bowl.
The following year, Philadelphia’s offensive production slipped to 14th overall with an average of 365.3 YPG. That is still almost 30 more yards per game than the Eagles’ current mark.
This is almost worse than Philadelphia’s offense looked prior to Groh taking over as offensive coordinator. In 2016, the Eagles ranked 22nd on offense and the team did not reach the playoffs.
Yikes Carson Wentz. What happened here?pic.twitter.com/m9d17C5AVW
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) November 24, 2019
While Groh should shoulder a lot of the blame, there are certainly other contributing factors for Philly’s downfall in offensive production.
Groh has faced criticism on social media, mostly from former Eagles players who have questioned his offensive plays.
Former quarterback Dan Orlovsky declared Philadelphia’s latest loss to the Seattle Seahawks “the single worst game I have ever seen at the WR position.”
It’s all over the tape-yall asked-here it is from the @Eagles WR and the lack of detail and the effect it has on the QB play… pic.twitter.com/vYdHREMlze
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) November 25, 2019
Eagles Have Struggled In Passing Game
The Eagles have been held to 10 or fewer points in their last two games, partly because the team is dealing with injuries at the wide receiver position.
Nelson Agholor and Alshon Jeffery — the team’s top-two wide receivers — have both been out with injuries. Jeffery has been limited to eight games and has 353 receiving yards in that stretch. That’s put a lot more pressure on tight end Zach Ertz, who’s been quarterback Carson Wentz’s top target this season.
Ertz does lead the Eagles in receiving yards with 712 and is on pace to lead the team in that category for a second consecutive year.
Wentz is having his worst season offensively under Groh, as the fourth-year QB has 17 touchdown passes through 11 games this season. Wentz had 21 TDs through 11 games last season before suffering a season-ending injury.
#Eagles OC Mike Groh was asked if Carson Wentz is taking too much of the blame considering the way the WRs played against Seattle pic.twitter.com/QKWMRPnTB2
— Dave Uram (@MrUram) November 26, 2019
Is There Still Time For Groh To Get It Right?
With the Eagles still in the hunt for an NFC Wild-Card spot, perhaps there’s still time for Groh to prove the critics wrong. Philadelphia has a favorable schedule the rest of the way, with games against Miami, Washington and N.Y. Giants to close the season.
The Eagles couldn’t have asked for a better schedule to get their offense rolling again. The question is, will it be enough to take the pressure off Groh? I don’t believe so.
Bet on “Yes” at -200 odds
Angelo Montilla is a writer, visual design instructor and graphic designer based on the East Coast. As a journalism graduate, his experience in the media industry spans more than 15 years and includes work with Nation Network, SportsBreak, Featurd, Hockey Writers and the Windsor Star.
