Doug Pederson is the last man standing from 2016 head coaching hires

It’s official – Doug Pederson is the best head coaching hire from the 2016 class.

Well, that was quite the turn of events now, wasn’t it? If you can remember correctly, Doug Pederson was viewed as one of the worst head coach hirings of all time back in 2016 by some. We won’t mention any names because Jason Kelce took care of that last February but boy, was that man dead wrong? Doug Pederson is officially the last man standing.

Per usual, the 2016 offseason featured quite a few new head coaching hirings around the league. Seven guys were fired, while seven more were hired. And the Philadelphia Eagles just so happened to be in the mix that year as they canned Chip Kelly. Before the Eagles went and brought Doug Pederson back into Philly, they hosted a few other candidates.

At the time, it seemed like nobody wanted to coach the dumpster fire that was the Philadelphia Eagles. Chip Kelly the general manager decided to destroy the heart and soul of the team altogether, and other coaches wanted no parts of them.

So, six guys found a job elsewhere, and the Eagles were still in the hunt for their next coach. Everybody was far from pleased as all of the ‘good names’ were officially off the board. Unfortunately at the time, getting stuck with Doug Pederson seemed like an awful thing. That’s what ended up happening and what do you know? Pederson is the man three years later.

Doug P is the last man standing

We knew that Doug was special when he helped coach the broken down and injured Philadelphia Eagles into the playoffs to attain the number one seed in the NFC. As underdogs, the Eagles were expected to lose to the Atlanta Falcons. Sure enough, Philly defeated the Atlanta Falcons at home in a close one that almost had them bounced out in the first round.

Then, Pederson’s offense absolutely destroyed the Minnesota Vikings and the New England Patriots, which ended up bringing the Eagles their first Super Bowl ever. The Eagles didn’t exactly have an ideal follow-up season, but once again, Philly is back in the tournament and will compete in the playoffs, while every other coach that was left from 2016 will search for their next job.

Pederson’s stint in Philly hasn’t been flawless. As we know, Eagles fans can be harsh when things aren’t going right. But seeing how much the Eagles accomplish with so little really makes you appreciate the head coach even more. This team could’ve easily collapsed after that abysmal performance in New Orleans, but Pederson kept everybody in check. Now, the Eagles have an opportunity to go to yet, another do-or-die war this week in Chicago.