Eagles' changes begin as defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz won't return, but Pederson reportedly will

The first of the Eagles' offseason moves began Saturday when it was reported by the NFL Network that defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz would not be returning.

A league source confirmed the report.

Schwartz had run the Eagles' defense ever since Doug Pederson became the head coach in January 2016. Pederson had given Schwartz full autonomy over the defense. Schwartz, 54, will apparently take a year off and contemplate retirement.

It was expected that the Eagles would make some changes after going 4-10-1 heading into their regular-season finale Sunday night against the Washington Football Team.

But Pederson, for one, expressed confidence this week that he would return for 2021. And an ESPN report Saturday indicated that Pederson will in fact return. 

Schwartz, then, is the first change after he coaches the finale Sunday night. The NFL Network report cited Schwartz's recent hip and eye surgeries as a possible reason for deciding to step away.

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Schwartz would not discuss his performance this season when asked on Tuesday, saying he's only thinking about the upcoming game against Washington.

"I've got too much respect for the guys that are going to be on the field, some of which are playing for the first time," Schwartz said. "I've got too much respect for the game to talk about anything other than this game. I apologize for that, but that's where our focus is."

The Eagles defense is ranked 21st overall in yards allowed per game at 371 and 22nd in points allowed per game at 26.5.

Those are both the worst rankings in Schwartz's five seasons with the Eagles. But injuries have ravaged all three position groups on defense during the season, badly exposing their lack of depth.

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That includes the secondary where an undrafted rookie free agent in Michael Jacquet started at cornerback last Sunday against Dallas, and was beaten frequently by Cowboys receivers Michael Gallup and Amari Cooper.

In the last two games, the Eagles have allowed more than 500 yards in each game in losses to Arizona and the Cowboys.

In addition, defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, the Eagles' big free agent signing, had a slow start before playing well over the last several weeks. The linebacker unit has also been decimated with veterans leaving. 

The Eagles used two draft picks on linebackers last spring – Davion Taylor in the third round and Shaun Bradley in the sixth – but neither contributed much this season. Taylor, especially, was considered a project when he was selected.

Pederson has often spoken highly of Schwartz's work, most recently on Friday.

"Obviously, his defenses historically have been top defenses in the National Football League – of course, when guys are healthy and all of that," Pederson said. "I think as the season progressed this year, I thought the defense actually was doing some really good things for us and keeping the offense in these football games here down the stretch – creating takeaways and sort of stymieing the run game from our opponents, things of that nature."

The players had also spoken highly of Schwartz's coaching under difficult situations. The Eagles have played most of the past month without starting defensive backs Rodney McLeod and Avonte Maddox, both sidelined with knee injuries.

In addition, safety Jalen Mills is on the COVID-19 list and won't play this Sunday, either.

"I like Jim Schwartz. I love his defense," defensive end Brandon Graham said. "I think sometimes because of injuries and certain things that happen, the defense that he runs, I feel like I’m always in position to make plays. Sometimes, it’s tough. We don’t have the personnel to do certain things, like McLeod going down. That’s our general in the back that keeps everything together.

"There’s a lot of stuff that played its part this year. It just sucks, because I know Jim is a good coach and sometimes the way the season went, it gave people a bad name, for all of us. It was a bad name because we gave up 500 yards and it doesn’t look good when you can’t stop the bleeding."

Before coming to the Eagles, Schwartz had served as a defensive coordinator with the Tennessee Titans from 2001-08. During that time, the Titans reached the Super Bowl and won the AFC South three times.

He was the Detroit Lions' head coach from 2009-13, taking over a team that went 0-16 the season before he arrived, and taking them to the playoffs in his third season. He served as the Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator in 2014 before coming to the Eagles.

Eagles cornerback Darius Slay remembers how Schwartz helped him through a tough time during his rookie season in 2013. Slay said he imparted that wisdom to Jacquet this week after his tough game against the Cowboys.

Jacquet was benched in the third quarter.

"I told (Jacquet) when it happened to him during the game that, anybody knows me and Coach Schwartz when he was in Detroit, my first two games as a starter with the Lions, I got benched twice by him. He came to the sidelines and benched me twice, back to back.

"I told him I’ve been there with Schwartz being benched twice. Told him to keep his head up and keep playing because that’s what he’s looking for you to do is keep playing and see how you react to it.

"I responded well. I fought on during the year and it made me the person I am today."

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.