So, what’s next for now-former Eagles head coach Doug Pederson?
Well, here we are, at the time of this story being published, 11 days into the 2021 calendar year. What have we found out? There are some distinct differences between 2020 and 2021. Some already say it’s going to be a better year. Others say that it’s too early to tell, but here’s what we can all say. The 2021 Philadelphia Eagles will look drastically different than 2020’s version. For starters, Doug Pederson won’t be their head coach.
First, there was Chris Mortensen’s report that a firing might happen. Second, the news was broken by the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero that it did happen. By the time Jeffrey Lurie released his statement, everything sank in. Doug Pederson, a man who both led the Birds to their first Vince Lombardi Trophy and to one of the most substantial year-by-year declines in team history is out after five seasons as Eagles head coach.
He won’t be unemployed for long. The question is where will he end up?
Here’s a guess on Doug Pederson’s best landing spot.
If you’re like many of the NFL’s most well-known pundits, there’s a theory that began floating around almost as quickly as the news of Philly’s split from their head coach. Might Doug land in the AFC with the New York Jets?
Again, outside of the Eagles’ vacancy, there are six other teams that need head coaches: The Los Angeles Chargers, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Atlanta Falcons, the Houston Texans, the Detroit Lions, and the New York Jets. Though that job in Los Angeles looks really cool, Doug’s best fit might be with New York.
He knows the general manager (Joe Douglas). Expectations are low. The Jets have nine draft picks, including the second-overall selection. Might one or more of those be traded so Philly can stock more picks?
Right now, the Jets pick second, 27th, 34th, 66th. and 91st in the first three rounds. They also pick in the 98th slot in Round 4, 130th and 138th in Round 5. They close their portion selection meeting with their final draft choice, the 162nd-overall selection (Round 6). Doug would also inherit Sam Darnold, which will give him the opportunity to disprove the theory that he destroyed Carson Wentz‘s career.
Like 11, much of the narrative surrounding Darnold is he hasn’t been surrounded by great talent and the organization hasn’t done enough to find him substantial coaching. We’ll have to wait and see if this idea has any credence in the coming months.