Eagles coach Doug Pederson answered with certainty when asked about the future of offensive coordinator Mike Groh and wide receivers coach Carson Walch.
When he was asked about defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who is interviewing for the Browns head coaching job, he was less firm.
“Jim’s done an outstanding job with our defense and the improvement that we saw throughout the course of the season, so I’m excited for him and his opportunity,” Pederson said, via Reuben Frank of NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com. “I wish him the best.”
When pressed on whether Schwartz would be back if he didn’t get the Browns job, he replied: “I would assume, yes. He’s currently my D.C., yes.”
That’s not necessarily a bad omen, it’s just far less certain than his “Both those guys will be back,” regarding Groh and Walch.
Schwartz has been on Pederson’s staff since he took over in 2016, so his lack of a clear statement was interesting.
“With all my staff I’m in that process right now of evaluating,” he said. “I’d love to have them all back, obviously. We know what this league is about and any time an assistant coach can get a promotion, whether it’s here or someone else, I encourage that. But as I evaluate and look, we’re only three days removed from the season, so everything’s still fresh in my mind, too, so we’re still evaluating and all my coaches are in that evaluation process as well.”
In the days after a disappointing end to a long season, some time to evaluate seems reasonable. But given chances to clear up the confusion, he declined.