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Eagles hire WR coach; Howie elaborates on Rowe

MOBILE, Ala. -- Eagles fans gained a wide-receivers coach Monday, along with a slightly better explanation of why second-year corner Eric Rowe is going to the Super Bowl with the Patriots instead of into the Birds' offseason training.

MOBILE, Ala. – Eagles fans gained a wide-receivers coach Monday, along with a slightly better explanation of why second-year corner Eric Rowe is going to the Super Bowl with the Patriots instead of into the Birds' offseason training.

Mike Groh is the new wideouts coach, replacing Greg Lewis, the first and so far only member of Doug Pederson's staff to be dismissed.

Groh, 45, was passing-game coordinator for the Rams last season, following three years coaching wide receivers with the Bears. He is the son of longtime NFL and college coach Al Groh.

"Mike brings with him a vast array of experience coaching wide receivers in the NFL and college. Over his career, he has demonstrated a great ability as a teacher and as a motivator and we look forward to him getting started in Philadelphia," Pederson said in a statement released by the team.

In Chicago, Groh worked with Eagles player personnel vice president Joe Douglas. On Monday, Douglas appeared with de facto general manager Howie Roseman on the 94WIP morning show.

Roseman couldn't wait to be asked about something he said a few weeks ago about Rowe. Roseman has weathered a lot of negative response to saying that one of the reasons Rowe was traded to the Patriots was that the Eagles had determined they wouldn't sign him after the 2018 season, when his rookie deal ran out.

This seemed quite a bold projection, given that Rowe had been a 2015 second-round pick and a starter down the stretch that season, and that 2018 was three seasons distant when the trade was made. The fact that Rowe became a steady contributor for the Patriots, intercepting Ben Roethlisberger on Sunday as New England defeated the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game and advanced to the Super Bowl – well, that only intensified reaction from fans and reporters puzzled by Rowe's Eagles demise.

Nearly eight minutes into the interview, Roseman said, unprompted: "You've got to give me a chance to correct my answer on Eric Rowe from that press conference, because here's what happened: Yesterday, my 9-year-old son said, 'Dad, I didn't really understand your answer from that press conference.' So, when a 9-year-old boy doesn't understand the answer, it's probably a problem. I said: 'The reason you don't understand was because it wasn't coherent.' "

Roseman then praised New England coach Bill Belichick as "maybe the best developer of defensive backs in the history of the NFL." He said that Rowe was behind four other corners plus safety Malcolm Jenkins on the Eagles' corner depth chart as the 2016 season began, and that the Patriots' offer of a 2018 fourth-round pick that could still become a third (if Rowe plays 50 percent of the New England defensive snaps in 2017) seemed like "a pretty good value."

Roseman then indicated he might have undervalued Rowe. He said management makes about 50 decisions a year "that are real decisions."

"To say that we don't go back and think about them and think about whether they were right – that's part of it," he said. "You want to hit as many as you can, but when you're watching games of other players that you had here, that's the hard part about doing it . . . At the same time, you've got to get guys that fit your scheme, that make sense for the Philadelphia Eagles."

Jim Schwartz did not seem nearly as impressed with Rowe's skill set as former defensive coordinator Bill Davis had been. Schwartz clearly preferred the brash aggressiveness of 2016 seventh-round pick Jalen Mills.

Roseman denied that he jettisoned Rowe because Rowe was a Chip Kelly pick. He offered up middle linebacker Jordan Hicks, the Eagles' third-round pick in the 2015 Kelly-led draft, as proof that he values some Kelly players.

Birdseed

Eagles center Jason Kelce and running back/returner Darren Sproles were added to the NFC Pro Bowl roster Monday, replacing a pair of Super Bowl-bound Falcons, center Alex Mack and running back Davonta Freeman. Defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and offensive tackle Jason Peters were the original Eagles selections . . . The Eagles have switched defensive tackle Taylor Hart to offensive tackle . . . The team signed defensive tackle Justin Hamilton to a reserve/future contract. He has been with the Packers, Seahawks and Bills since going undrafted from Louisiana-Lafayette in 2015.

bowenl@phillynews.com

@LesBowen

Blog: philly.com/Eaglesblog