Doug Pederson

Latest On Jaguars’ Coaching Search

January 6th, 2022 at 10:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Jaguars are breaking in the NFL’s new early interview process, and they are seeing some coaches greenlight the meetings and others opt to wait. Doug Pederson already interviewed, while Cowboys DC Dan Quinn passed on an early virtual meeting. More coaches landed in each camp this week.

Buccaneers DC Todd Bowles interviewed virtually this week, according to Mark Long of the Associated Press. Cowboys OC Kellen Moore also will interview this week, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Colts DC Matt Eberflus joined Quinn in skipping an early virtual interview, Joel Erickson of the Indianapolis Star adds.

Byron Leftwich, a 2003 Jaguars first-round pick who is in his third season as Bucs OC, may end up being part of the virtual interview process. Leftwich could interview with the Jags as soon as Friday, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. Leftwich brushed aside questions about his pursuit of the Jacksonville HC gig last week, but whether a meeting occurs during the early interview window or after the regular season’s conclusion, the former quarterback is expected to be in the mix.

Leftwich, 41, played the first four seasons of his career in Jacksonville, starting 44 games in that span. Shad Khan was not yet in place as owner at that point, but the young coordinator certainly is familiar with the franchise.

Nathaniel Hackett, the Jags’ OC during part of Gus Bradley and Doug Marrone‘s HC tenures, will not be part of the early interview circuit, either. The third-year Packers OC will wait until after the regular season ends, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport adds. However, Hackett does have plans to be part of this process. He will meet with his former team next week, via the AP.

The Jaguars fired Hackett in November 2018. The second-generation NFL assistant has rebuilt his stock in Green Bay, with he and Matt LaFleur being the top offensive decision-makers during Aaron Rodgers‘ push for back-to-back MVPs.

Bowles would be a second-chance HC candidate. Following his Jets exit, he has overseen one of the league’s top defenses for the past three years. Bowles’ game plan helped the Bucs ground the high-flying Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. Despite numerous injuries, the Bucs still rank 10th in scoring defense entering Week 18. The Cowboys, who chose to retain Moore as their play-caller despite hiring Mike McCarthy, lead the NFL in scoring. Moore, 33, is in just his fourth season as a coach. Hired during the brief window Josh McDaniels held the Colts’ HC reins, Eberflus is finishing up his fourth season in Indianapolis. Entering Week 18, the Colts rank 12th defensively. They have been a top-10 unit in two of Eberflus’ previous three seasons.

Pederson’s interview took place at Khan’s home, Rapoport adds. Also a coaching free agent, Jim Caldwell met with the Jags earlier this week. Here is how the Jags’ HC search looks as the early interview window winds down:

Todd Bowles, defensive coordinator (Buccaneers): Interviewed on 1/3
Jim Caldwell, former head coach (Lions): Interviewed on 1/4
Matt Eberflus, defensive coordinator (Colts): Declined early interview
Nathaniel Hackett, offensive coordinator (Packers): To interview after regular season
Byron Leftwich, offensive coordinator (Buccaneers): Expected to interview
Kellen Moore, offensive coordinator (Cowboys): To interview
Doug Pederson, former head coach (Eagles): Interviewed on 12/30
Dan Quinn, defensive coordinator (Cowboys): Declined early interview

Cowboys’ Dan Quinn Will Not Take Early Interview With Jaguars

December 29th, 2021 at 12:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Jaguars are getting the jump on the rest of league, capitalizing on their HC vacancy to be the only team able to interview candidates early. However, one of the team’s hopeful interviewees will not take part in the process.

Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn will not interview with the Jaguars during this newly created early two-week window, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. This does not necessarily mean Quinn is removing himself from consideration for the Jacksonville job, with Tom Pelissero of NFL.com noting the Dallas DC indeed has not ruled himself out of contention (Twitter link). The veteran defensive coach wants to wait on HC interviews until after the regular season ends. But Quinn waiting would stand to be leave him behind in a pursuit of this position.

Jags interview requests went out to Quinn, Cowboys OC Kellen Moore, Buccaneers coordinators Byron Leftwich and Todd Bowles, Colts DC Matt Eberflus, Packers OC Nathaniel Hackett and former Eagles HC Doug Pederson. After taking a season off, Pederson will be the first candidate to interview with the Jaguars. The former Super Bowl-winning coach will do his Jags session Thursday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

After being out of the game for much of last season, with the Falcons firing him after a bad start, Quinn has moved himself back onto the head-coaching radar. The Cowboys’ defense has improved significantly in his first season overseeing the unit. He figures to generate interest from other teams once more vacancies emerge.

The NFL recently greenlit what amounts to a one-year trial run with this early interview process, which runs through the end of the regular season. Consisting entirely of virtual meetings, this process is only approved for this year.

Jaguars Request Interviews With Todd Bowles, Byron Leftwich

December 28th, 2021 at 12:59pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jaguars have asked the Buccaneers for permission to interview offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles for their head coaching vacancy (Twitter links via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). In addition to the Tampa duo, they’ve also requested an interview with Cowboys OC Kellen Moore and DC Dan Quinn (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com) and scheduled a meeting with ex-Eagles HC Doug Pederson for later this week (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero).

All five coaches have been connected to the Jaguars in recent weeks, with Pederson said to be especially interested in the job. Pederson, of course, had Carson Wentz playing at an MVP level through the first 14 weeks of the 2017 season, up until his fateful ACL tear. Then, with backup QB Nick Foles under center, he guided the Birds to their first ever Super Bowl ring. Pederson’s final Philadelphia season ended with a 4-11-1 mark, but he remains an attractive candidate nonetheless.

Bucs head coach Bruce Arians, meanwhile, would happily advocate for either one of his coordinators to get the job. He’s been especially supportive of Leftwich, who did not receive an HC interview in the last cycle.

“The job he’s done…he coaches quarterbacks, he calls plays, he’s everything everybody says they are looking for,” Arians said in January (via Jon Ledyard of Pewter Report). “I was really hoping he’d get his first few interviews and maybe get a job out of it. I can’t speak for what the owners think and who they listen to sometimes, but it’s just a matter of time before he gets his.”

Interview Candidates For Jaguars

December 26th, 2021 at 5:20pm CST by Ely Allen

Jacksonville’s head coach position is open for grabs and the prospect of molding a young quarterback with star potential should be alluring for a number of candidates looking to lead the Jaguars. According to a tweet from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, two of the candidates they wish to interview for the position are former NFL head coaches Doug Pederson and Jim Caldwell.

Pederson has been an offensive mind in the NFL since 2009 spending 6 years as an assistant coach under Andy Reid. He started as an offensive quality control coach for the Eagles until taking over the quarterbacks room when James Urban was promoted to Philadelphia’s assistant offensive coordinator. Pederson followed Reid to Kansas City as the offensive coordinator in 2013 with Reid retaining the role of play-caller for the offense. After a 1-5 start to the 2015 season, Reid gave Pederson play-calling responsibility and the Chiefs finished the season on a 10-game win streak.

This made Pederson a top candidate for NFL head coaching jobs that offseason and he was hired to replace Chip Kelly back where his NFL career first started in Philadelphia. The first-year head coach was matched up with the second-overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft, quarterback Carson Wentz out of North Dakota State. The team’s record didn’t improve in 2016 despite a three-game win streak to start the Pederson-Wentz marriage. The second year of Pederson’s tenure, though, went slightly better with the Eagles winning Super Bowl LII over the New England Patriots. Pederson had Wentz playing at an MVP level through 14 weeks when Wentz suffered a torn ACL, ending the best season of his then-young NFL career early. Backup quarterback Nick Foles helped the team to clinch home-field advantage in the playoffs and led the team to wins over the Falcons and Vikings en route to their Super Bowl appearance and victory. The next year saw Wentz struggle to stay healthy and Foles continue to fill in as the Eagles went 9-7 and won a playoff game as a wild card team. A healthy Wentz helped Pederson lead the team to a division-winning 9-7 the next year, but they lost their first and only playoff game with Wentz at the helm. Pederson’s last season in Philadelphia saw the Eagles go 4-11-1 after some injuries and poor play from Wentz. Pederson was laid off immediately after the regular season with a 42-37-1 regular season record and a 4-2 playoff record despite delivering the franchise’s first Super Bowl win and first NFL Championship since before the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.

Jim Caldwell entered the NFL in 2001 as the quarterbacks coach for the Buccaneers under then-head coach Tony Dungy. Caldwell followed Dungy to Indianapolis and was announced as Dungy’s successor-in-waiting following the 2007 season. Exactly a year later, Caldwell was introduced as the Colts’ head coach following Dungy’s retirement. Caldwell took over a Peyton Manning-led Colts team and rolled to a 14-0 record, tying former 49ers’ coach George Seifert for most consecutive wins to start a coaching career. He controversially sat his starting players in two losses to end the season, with home-field advantage in the playoffs already secured. Caldwell’s Colts won his first two playoff games over the Ravens and Jets before losing to the Saints in Super Bowl XLIV. The two playoff wins would end up being the only playoff wins of Caldwell’s head coaching career to date, but he was only the fifth head coach to reach the Super Bowl in their rookie season and is the latest rookie head coach to have done so. Caldwell’s next season saw the Colts finish 10-6, winning the AFC South, but losing their Wild Card game to the Jets. The Wild Card loss would be Manning’s last game in a Colts uniform as neck surgeries would hold him out of the entire 2011-12 NFL season. Caldwell’s Manning-less Colts would go 2-14 with quarterbacks Curtis Painter, Dan Orlovsky, and Kerry Collins all starting games. Caldwell was fired immediately following the season.

Caldwell was picked up by the Ravens as a quarterbacks coach but, when the Ravens fired Cam Cameron midseason, Caldwell was named the offensive coordinator for the playoff-bound Ravens and helped lead Joe Flacco to a flawless postseason in which Flacco tied Joe Montana for most touchdowns without an interception in a single postseason. Caldwell saw his quarterback win Super Bowl XLVII MVP after beating the 49ers with a “lights out” performance.

Following a successful tenure in Baltimore, Caldwell was hired to his second head coaching gig in 2014, this time for the Lions. Caldwell led Detroit to an 11-5 record in his first season and a wild card playoff berth, losing to the Cowboys. The Lions would finish with a 9-7 record twice in the next three seasons losing one more playoff game in 2016. Despite finishing 2017 with a winning record, and having a career record with the Lions of 36-28, Caldwell was let go and succeeded by Matt Patricia. Caldwell was hired by the Dolphins to join Brian Flores’s staff as assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach, but he took a leave of absence for health reasons and wasn’t retained by Miami following the 2019 season.

Either head coach would be an intriguing addition due to their success in building offensive systems. Caldwell has shown an aptitude for winning football games, but has often been criticized for being unable to take that next step in the postseason, highlighted by his 2-4 career record in the playoffs. Pederson showed his ability to help young quarterbacks get up to speed in the NFL with Wentz and then-rookie Jalen Hurts, but he drew criticism for controversially pulling Hurts out in the final game of the season in what some accused was an attempt to better the Eagles’ draft position. The Jaguars are sure to do their due diligence in their coaching search, but they clearly have some ideas in mind for what they want out of their new head coach.

Coaching Notes: Jags, Culley, Nagy

December 19th, 2021 at 12:14pm CST by Rory Parks

Things have not gone well for the Jaguars this year. Urban Meyer failed to make it through his first year as an NFL head coach, No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence has the second-worst QB rating among qualified passers, and the club has mustered just two wins against 11 losses. The good news, as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes, is that the Jacksonville head coaching job is considered a desirable one, and many candidates who are expected to be hot commodities in the upcoming coaching cycle are anxious to secure an interview with owner Shad Khan.

That is largely because of Lawrence, who is still considered a generational talent despite his rookie struggles. Former Eagles HC Doug Pederson is reportedly interested in the post, and Patriots OC Josh McDaniels and Bills OC Brian Daboll might also be attractive options for Khan given their recent work with young signal-callers. One way or another, Khan should not have any difficulty luring a top candidate to Duval, though he obviously needs to get this hire right.

Here are several other coaching-related items:

Jaguars interim HC Darrell Bevell will have a chance to have the interim tag removed and interview for the permanent head coaching gig. He does have Lawrence’s support, but his candidacy will depend on how the team’s offense performs down the stretch. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com expects Ravens DC Don Martindale — the architect of the Jags’ Joe Cullen-led defense — to be in the mix as well (Twitter link).
We recently heard that the Texans are expected to retain head coach David Culley for 2022, but GM Nick Caserio is at least considering his options, per La Canfora. Culley, a 66-year-old coach who had spent his entire career as an assistant, was the most surprising hire of the 2021 cycle, but as Houston was (and is) in the midst of a complete rebuild, the club was perhaps looking for more of a caretaker than anything else. Caserio is rumored to have his eye on one unnamed candidate for the next phase of the rebuild, and it’s not difficult to connect the dots to McDaniels. The Houston HC job may not attract many in-demand candidates for 2022, which means that Culley could get one more year at the helm. However, if McDaniels does not land his own head coaching post in the coming months, he and Caserio could reunite in Texas in 2023.
No surprises here, but La Canfora, in the same Culley piece linked above, says many assistants on Bears HC Matt Nagy‘s staff are operating under the assumption that they will need to find new employment at season’s end. It has been assumed that Nagy will be terminated after the season is over, though La Canfora leaves open the possibility that Nagy could get his walking papers before then so that Chicago can get a head start on the interview process.

Doug Pederson Addresses Eagles’ QB Decisions, 2020 Downfall

July 9th, 2021 at 10:28am CST by Sam Robinson

The Eagles using a second-round pick on Jalen Hurts raised eyebrows last year, and it ended up being a precursor to the end of an era.

While other factors contributed to the five-year Doug Pederson–Carson Wentz run abruptly ending, the since-fired head coach said the Hurts move was not part of a plan to develop Wentz’s heir apparent. It is rather remarkable that the Eagles taking Hurts 53rd overall preceded such swift fallout, considering the Alabama/Oklahoma product’s status as Philly’s long-term starter remains uncertain. But less than a year after the pick, Pederson is unemployed and Wentz is in Indianapolis.

“You go into drafts and you go into each year looking for quarterbacks,” Pederson said during an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio (via NFL.com). “And we continued to look for quarterbacks, and that’s always something that will never change. We won a Super Bowl with our backup quarterback. And we’ve had to play with our backups a couple of times in Philadelphia.

“So we did that a year ago and brought in Jalen Hurts — not to undermine Carson Wentz, not to do anything to take away his job or anything because Carson was our starter. He was the franchise and all that moving forward. But (we wanted) someone that could come in and could be the backup and learn how to play the NFL game — bring his talent to the Philadelphia Eagles.”

Pederson ended up benching Wentz in early December, following a rough stretch for the former No. 2 overall pick. A rash of injuries affected both the Eagles’ offensive line and their receiving corps, and Wentz’s play predictably worsened. The benching led to a fracture between Wentz and Pederson.

The Eagles then parted ways with both, ushering in a Hurts-Nick Sirianni pairing — barely a year after the team narrowly lost a wild-card game. Though the Eagles were believed to be interviewing candidates with an eye on jump-starting Wentz, making an ex-Frank Reich lieutenant a logical option, the franchise quickly went in a different direction.

“And really as the season began, things just started to kind of I guess spiral out of control,” Pederson said. “Injuries began to set in. We weren’t playing very well. Turnovers offensively, just a number of things, penalties, more injuries compounded problems, and it just became harder and harder as the year wore on.

“… It’s just unfortunate for me because I was hoping to really have an opportunity to fix the issues that we had and kind of get everything back on track — whether it was going to be this year or the next year. And, obviously, that didn’t happen.”

Pederson, 53, said he will attempt to land a second head coaching job. He discussed Seattle’s offensive coordinator position, but that was the Super Bowl-winning HC’s only known link to a 2021 gig. The Eagles added a 2022 first-round pick in trading down with the Dolphins this year. Barring an injury that prevents Wentz from taking 75% of Indy’s 2021 snaps, the team is in line to collect another from the Colts in the Wentz trade. This would give Philly a good opportunity to draft Wentz’s true successor, if Hurts fares poorly this season.

It is unclear how well Hurts will need to play to prevent the Eagles from entertaining another first-round quarterback pick, but given that he was not drafted with a QB1 role in mind, Philly figures to be linked to 2022 QB prospects.

Doug Pederson Aiming To Land Another Head Coaching Job

June 30th, 2021 at 1:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

Doug Pederson‘s fit with the Eagles unraveled quickly, following Philadelphia’s 4-11-1 season. Despite leading the Eagles to their first Super Bowl championship three years ago, Pederson is without an NFL gig at the moment.

But the five-year Eagles head coach is not planning a lengthy hiatus away from the game. The 53-year-old coach wants to land a second head coaching position soon.

“The competitor inside wants to continue to compete,” Pederson said during an appearance on 97.5’s The Anthony Gargano Show (via NJ.com). “Hopefully, I get an opportunity to lead another football team and do the same things again and learn from the last five years — what a great teaching moment for me.

“I always talk about how we learn from failures and different things like that. I don’t want to say that this was a failure, but at the same time, I want to learn from the last five years moving forward in my next opportunity.”

Although the Pederson-Carson Wentz era ended badly, with the injury-stricken 2020 team running aground, the Eagles went 42-37-1 during this partnership. Last season dragged down Pederson’s win percentage considerably, however, and he and GM Howie Roseman‘s relationship soured. Pederson discussed an offensive coordinator position with the Seahawks earlier this year, but the team went in another direction.

Super Bowl-winning coaches have been given second- or third-chance opportunities in recent years. Mike Shanahan landed in Washington after taking the 2009 season off, while Jon Gruden signed a monster contract to return to the Raiders. Mike McCarthy‘s Cowboys route, after the ex-Packers HC sat out the 2019 season, appears to be the path Pederson is aiming to take. Pederson, however, won a Super Bowl without his starting quarterback and did so without a dominant defense. It will be interesting to see how these accomplishments, along with the 2020 debacle, will be viewed by other teams when next year’s coaching carousel starts.

“I’ll be defined in Philadelphia for my wins and losses,” Pederson said. “Obviously, the championship is huge. But for me, I feel like if I get another opportunity, I want to do it again. I went to two Super Bowls as a player in Green Bay, and then obviously now being a coach in Philadelphia, and so three Super Bowls, and when it gets in your system like that, it’s just hard to turn that off.”

NFC East Notes: Rudolph, Eagles, Cowboys

April 3rd, 2021 at 4:36pm CST by Sam Robinson

Kyle Rudolph is expected to undergo foot surgery soon, and he may be in for extensive rehab. The new Giants tight end is believed to be dealing with a Lisfranc injury, Dan Duggan of The Athletic tweets. The troublesome foot malady can be difficult to shake, but Rudolph expects to be ready for Week 1. This injury is similar to what Evan Engram dealt with in 2019. Engram underwent surgery to address his Lisfranc issue in December 2019 and was ready for training camp last year. Rudolph’s timetable is considerably more condensed, which likely led to the delay in the veteran tight end signing his Giants contract. Engram and Rudolph would give the Giants one of the NFL’s top tight end tandems, but the former’s injury history and the latter’s current issue cloud that situation to some degree.

Here is more from the NFC East:

GM Howie Roseman and Eagles scouts had differing opinions on which players to select with the team’s top two draft choices last year. The veteran GM and Eagles coaches’ preference for Jalen Reagor won out over the consensus scouts’ preference: Justin Jefferson. Roseman also veered from his scouts’ recommendation in Round 2, tabbing Jalen Hurts over safety Jeremy Chinn, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer notes. The Eagles will bank on the latter move this season, having since traded Carson Wentz and seemingly signed Joe Flacco to back up Hurts. Chinn went to the Panthers at No. 64 — 11 picks after Hurts — and finished second in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. Going to the Vikings one pick after Reagor, Jefferson finished second in the Offensive Rookie of the Year voting.
Frank Reich‘s future took a major turn in 2018, when Josh McDaniels‘ backtracking on his Colts commitment ended up re-routing the Eagles OC to Indianapolis. This came shortly after Reich played a key role in the Eagles’ first Super Bowl championship. Reich nearly saw his status change in 2017, however. A front office push for Reich’s firing existed, according to McLane, who adds Doug Pederson managed to save Reich’s job. In Wentz’s first season — a 7-9 Eagles campaign, which was also Reich’s first as Eagles OC — the team ranked 22nd in total offense. They rose to seventh in 2017, with Wentz finishing first in QBR. The Eagles, who promoted Mike Groh to replace Reich and then fired Groh after the 2019 season, have since hired Reich’s top Colts protégé (Nick Sirianni) as head coach.
Brandon Graham agreed to restructure his deal to provide the Eagles with additional cap space last month. Graham’s adjusted contract can be classified as a one-year extension, with Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweeting the new deal is worth nearly $20MM over two years. The Eagles converted Graham’s salaries into prorated bonuses, with the 11-year veteran set to earn barely $1MM in base salary in each of the next three seasons. The team tacked on three void years to the contract, per OverTheCap, which indicates each of Graham’s cap numbers over the life of this through-2023 contract are south of $10MM.
After hiring Dan Quinn as defensive coordinator, the Cowboys brought both Keanu Neal and Damontae Kazee over from Atlanta. The latter’s deal will be worth the veteran minimum, according to ESPN.com’s Todd Archer (on Twitter). Kazee will count just $988K against the Cowboys’ cap. Attempting to return from an Achilles tear, Kazee will collect $250K guaranteed.

Carson Wentz Fallout: Hurts, Patriots, Pederson

February 18th, 2021 at 9:52pm CST by Ben Levine

The Carson Wentz era in Philadelphia came to an end today, as the former second-overall pick was dealt to the Colts. However, just because Wentz was sent packing, that doesn’t necessarily mean Jalen Hurts will slide into the starting spot. Sources tell ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen that the Eagles intend to bring in “competition” at quarterback, and the “starting job is not expected to automatically go to Hurts.”

The Eagles made a significant commitment to Hurts when they selected him in the second round of last year’s draft, and the former Alabama/Oklahoma standout showed flashes of potential during the 2020 season. Hurts ultimately started four of his 15 appearances this past season, completing 52 percent of his passes for 1,061 yards, six touchdowns, and four interceptions. He added another 354 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 63 carries.

It’s pretty clear that Hurts is the heir apparent at the quarterback spot, so this report is probably mostly lip service … teams don’t want their young players to rest on their laurels. Rather, the team is likely looking toward a veteran free agent who will provide some extra motivation to the young signal caller.

Let’s check out some more Wentz-centric notes:

The Colts ended up sending Philly a 2021 third-round pick and a conditional 2022 second-round pick. According to Zak Keefer of The Athletic, Indy’s offer “hadn’t changed all that much across 10 days of negotiations.” The Colts front office ultimately believed the compensation was “fair,” and they never intended to “meet the Eagles’ initial demands of multiple first-round picks.” Per Keefer, the Colts understood that Wentz wasn’t their only option to replace Philip Rivers, and the front office was weighing other options while negotiating with Philadelphia.
We learned earlier today that the Bears had inquired on Wentz but never made a definitive offer. The same goes for the Patriots. According to Jeff Howe of the The Athletic, New England called the Eagles about the quarterback but lost interest when they heard the asking price. As the reporter notes, the Patriots are unlikely to “overpay for a veteran if it’s not a perfect fit,” especially at this point in the offseason.
How did it get to this point between Wentz and the Eagles? ESPN’s Tim McManus writes that the drafting of Hurts may have marked the “beginning of the end,” but there were plenty of additional factors that came into play during the 2020 season. As the Eagles losses and injuries continued to mount, (former) head coach Doug Pederson stripped Wentz of “much of his control over the offense.” As a result, Wentz vicariously lost faith in his head coach and the system.
Wentz didn’t just lose faith in Pederson. Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that Wentz “lost faith in [general manager Howie Roseman‘s] decision making. Wentz held a similar sentiment toward owner Jeffrey Lurie, who supported his GM and the front office’s decision to select Hurts in the second round.

Former Eagles HC Doug Pederson To Take Year Off?

January 20th, 2021 at 10:41am CST by Zachary Links

Doug Pederson is out of work and he’s planning to keep it that way for now. The former Eagles head coach says he’s “leaning towards” taking the 2021 season off (via Les Bowen of The Inquirer).

Just a few years ago, Pederson was a hero in Philadelphia. But, after an especially trying season, the Eagles gave him the hook. The Super Bowl LII winner went 9-7 in 2018 and 2019. In 2020, his Eagles went 4-11-1. It was initially reported that the Eagles would bring him back for another year — that all changed after the team’s Week 17 debacle.

It stands to reason that Pederson’s absence from football can make hearts grow fonder. After all, the Birds have been plagued by injuries in recent years, and their struggles cannot be placed squarely on Pederson’s shoulders. While Carson Wentz regressed sharply in 2020, Pederson had a hand in the quarterback’s early career success.

After his dismissal, some believed that Pederson was ticketed for the Jets, where he could reunite with old pal Joe Douglas. He was also connected to the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator vacancy just last week. Ultimately, he wasn’t a hot HC candidate in this cycle, but he might have better luck next year.

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