Philadelphia Eagles May Be Close To Hiring Doug Pederson As Head Coach

It’s quiet. Too quiet. The Philadelphia Eagles could be close to making a hire.

It’s been about two weeks since the firing of Chip Kelly and the Philadelphia Eagles may be close to hiring his successor.

Jason La Canfora is reporting that the Eagles are no longer planning any interviews for their available head coaching job and points out that the team was impressed by Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson, who was interviewed on Sunday. If this is true, it’s very possible that the Eagles could be on the verge of hiring Pederson as their next head coach.

The Chiefs are still alive in the playoffs, so it’s currently not possible for the Eagles to formally hire Pederson, but considering there are no more reported interviews for the Eagles’ coaching job, that may indicate that the Eagles are simply waiting until the Chiefs are eliminated (or win the Super Bowl). Once that happens, an announcement could be made.

At the same time, there is a lot going on in the NFL right now. It’s the postseason and league meetings are currently unfolding in Houston, which will likely decide the fate of the NFL’s return to Los Angeles. Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie is attending the meetings, so his absence could be part of the reason why the Eagles don’t have any interviews scheduled. However, ESPN’s Adam Schefter called Pederson the Eagles’ “leading candidate” for the job and it would not come as much of a surprise if a major development occurs this week.

Pederson probably isn’t the number one guy to pop into most Eagles fans’ minds when the head coaching search began, but since the Miami Dolphins hired Adam Gase before the Eagles could, he’s the most logical hire. Not only did he play for the Eagles in 1999 under Andy Reid, but he was also on Reid’s coaching staff from 2009 to 2012, when Reid was fired after an ugly 4-12 season. Pederson followed Reid to the Chiefs in 2013 and has helped turn Kansas City’s offense into one of the better units in the league.

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However, Pederson only has six years of coaching experience in the NFL and really hasn’t done anything to separate himself from the rest of the available candidates, which isn’t a very good group to begin with. But his past history with Philadelphia is something that Jeffrey Lurie is looking for as he tries to bring back the wonder years of the Andy Reid era, which Pederson played a part in.

There is still so much grey area with the Eagles’ coaching search, but, as of now, it is really beginning to look like Pederson could be the Eagles’ head coach next season. Nothing is ever a done deal, especially with this team, but if you’re hoping for a guy like Tom Coughlin to be the hire, don’t get your hopes up. It’s Pederson’s job to lose.

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