The Philadelphia Eagles are still searching for a new offensive coordinator weeks after dismissing Mike Groh, and that's possibly because one of their initial candidates opted to play football instead.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeff McLane, the team used this year's exit meetings to approach backup quarterback Josh McCown about the possibility of joining the coaching staff -- and perhaps even filling the offensive coordinator vacancy. The discussions were so serious, in fact, that Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie sat down with McCown after the QB met with head coach Doug Pederson and general manager Howie Roseman -- something Lurie rarely does with players after the season, per McLane.

In the end, however, the 40-year-old McCown informed the Eagles he wasn't ready to retire, though it's unclear whether the team officially extended an offer for him to join the staff. At the time of exit meetings, Philadelphia had yet to fire Groh, who replaced Frank Reich as Pederson's OC starting in the 2018 season.

The Eagles have since seen a number of other reported candidates, including Baltimore Ravens QBs coach James Urban, Kansas City Chiefs QBs coach Mike Kafka and USC offensive coordinator Graham Harrell, come off the board.

Lured out of retirement in August following preseason injuries to the Eagles' backup QBs, McCown took most of the snaps during the team's lone playoff game this year after starter Carson Wentz suffered a concussion, leading a comeback attempt in a 17-9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks while playing with an injury of his own. Before that, the longtime journeyman was mostly relegated to patrolling the sidelines, where he could often be seen conversing with Pederson throughout games.

McCown has essentially played the role of coach in some of his most recent stints in the NFL, most notably helping to mentor Sam Darnold with the New York Jets before joining the Eagles.