With the Philadelphia Eagles sitting at 4-10-1 on the season and out of the playoff hunt heading into Week 17, there's been a lot of heat hurled toward both head coach Doug Pederson and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, but the latter isn't going to stick around to combat the criticism going forward. With his contract expiring the moment the clock hits all zeroes against the Washington Football Team this coming Sunday evening, Schwartz has reportedly decided to walk away from the Eagles in 2021, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. What's more is Schwartz is hitting pause on his NFL coaching career as a whole, looking to sit out all of next season to assess his future.
That means, essentially, there's a chance he retires and doesn't return for any team in 2021. Of course, that's a lot of time for him to change the direction in which he's leaning, and there's also the chance he returns to the collegiate ranks but, for now, it's possible he's coaching his final 60 minutes of football this week.
For the Eagles, this leaves a key vacancy to be filled in what Pederson expects to be his continued regime, having recently made it clear he has 100 percent confidence he himself will be retained in 2021 -- despite reportedly having been on the hot seat due to the regression of former first-round pick and recently extended quarterback Carson Wentz. It's possible the play of rookie second-round pick Jalen Hurts gave Pederson more rope with the organization, but the Eagles defense hasn't had similar success as of late.
This week, as a means of noting how fiery the Eagles would be against Washington despite having nothing more to play for than bragging rights, Schwartz noted there is a "no hats policy" in Philadelphia -- as in they won't allow a rival to win the division at Lincoln Financial Field. With a slew of defensive (and offensive) starters having now been ruled out, however, it's possible the final hoorah for Schwartz in Philadelphia will be more of a whimper, assuming Washington does take the victory.
Schwartz's bunch has allowed an average of 35 points per game in the last two outings, with Philadelphia losing both, including a must-win against the Cowboys in which they were run out of Arlington, TX in embarrassing fashion. The 54-year-old joined the Eagles in 2016, once head coach of the Detroit Lions and recently spending one season as DC with the Buffalo Bills, and has been the defensive coordinator in Philadelphia for the last half-decade, but his tenure has now come to an end.
And possibly in the NFL as well.
