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Taylor

It’s not exactly an inspiring move, but Ben Johnson is the one calling the plays so we probably shouldn’t worry about it too much. Taylor played a part in Trevor Lawrence’s regression under Doug Pederson as a playcaller in Jacksonville. The only Bears out-of-house interview we’ve heard of for this job was Cardinals pass game specialist Connor Senger, who could still wind up on this staff in a lower position now that Mike LaFleur has taken over as Arizona’s head coach.

The long-time Doug Pederson understudy spent the 2013-2020 seasons with the Eagles and the 2022-2024 seasons with the Jaguars, with a 2019 Colts stint in between. The former quarterbacks coach will now help mold Caleb Williams as he enters year two.

Taylor spent last season as a senior offensive assistant in Indianapolis trying to stoke a Carson Wentz revival. He was Pederson’s quarterbacks coach in Philadelphia for three seasons. While his only seasons as a pass-game coordinator were not empirically good, he also was anchored to Wentz for those two seasons. This has been a rumored fit for the Jaguars at OC since the moment Pederson was inked, and Taylor is clearly one of his guys.

Taylor will reunite with coach Frank Reich after the two previously spent time together in Philadelphia under Doug Pederson. Taylor, Philadelphia’s quarterbacks coach the past three years, only recently earned the title of pass-game coordinator in 2020, which ultimately led to his release after the team failed to show any signs of life in that department. Taylor’s title likely cements him into the same role that pass game specialist Kevin Patullo had before following Nick Sirianni to the Eagles.

Taylor additionally served as the team’s passing game coordinator last season. He steadily climbed Philadelphia’s coaching hierarchy from 2013 on, ultimately coordinating the team’s quarterbacks to league-lows in yards per attempt, completion rate, and sacks taken in his final year. The responsibilities of righting the ship (and Carson Wentz) will now fall to coach Nick Sirianni and OC Shane Steichen, the latter who had an immense hand in developing Justin Herbert just last year.

Taylor was interviewing for the Eagles’ offensive coordinator vacancy, but it doesn’t look like he’ll get the job. Instead, he’ll walk away with a small step up the coaching ladder. Considered to be on of the brighter young minds in the NFL, it won’t be a surprise to see Taylor interview for other OC openings over the next couple of seasons.

Taylor is an in-house candidate to replace Mike Groh. The Eagles have interviewed multiple candidates since Groh’s firing but haven’t hired anyone to this point. There’s been rumors Philly is waiting until after the Super Bowl to interview 49ers passing game coordinator Mike LaFleur for their OC job.