How soon they forget in Philly
The Eagles fired coach Doug Pederson on Monday just three years after he delivered the city its first-ever Super Bowl. Organization-wide dysfunction led to the Eagles’ 4-11-1 last-place finish in 2020, from a meddlesome hierarchy to a deteriorating roster to questionable coaching decisions to a disgruntled franchise quarterback in Carson Wentz.
Ultimately, it sounded like both Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and Pederson decided the relationship had run its course.
“I have spent the last few weeks evaluating everything from this past year and looking ahead,” Lurie said in a statement. “We are all very disappointed with the way our season went and eager to turn things around, not just for next season but also for the future of the franchise.”
Pederson told Phily-based NFL reporter Derrick Gunn: “No worries I’m at peace with it.”
“Although I am disappointed that this chapter of my career has come to an end,” Pederson said in a statement, “I am extremely proud of what we accomplished together.”
GM Howie Roseman, 45, will stay on and help search for a third heading coaching hire and fourth coach overall on his watch. That is unprecedented job security in the NFL.
Wentz is now more likely to stay in Philly. He had sought a trade due to a frayed relationship with Pederson. Lurie chose the
GM and quarterback over his coach.
Several Eagles players also were reportedly upset with Pederson’s benching of quarterback Jalen Hurts for Nate Sudfeld in the fourth quarter of a Week 17 loss to Washington that the Eagles organization appeared to lose intentionally, despite its players’ efforts.
Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley, Hurts’ coach with the Sooners, has come up as a rumored possible replacement for Pederson. But there are plenty of names at the NFL level, too.
Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy, Titans OC Arthur Smith, Panthers OC Joe Brady, Chiefs passing game coordinator Mike Kafka and Eagles assistant head coach Duce Staley are among the early candidates who might be able to restore Wentz.
Pederson, 52, exits with a 42-37-1 career regular-season record, a 4-2 playoff record, and a championship in five seasons.
He led the Eagles to three straight playoff appearances, including a 41-33 Super Bowl LII win over Tom Brady’s Patriots.
Backup quarterback Nick Foles led the Eagles through the playoffs and won Super Bowl MVP with Wentz injured. Foles suggested the “Philly Special” trick play call to Pederson on fourth and goal in that Super Bowl, an exchange and play call that goes down as the most famous in Eagles history.
There is even a statue of Pederson and Foles during that moment outside Lincoln Financial Field in South Philadelphia. Now neither is a part of the team.
The Eagles eventually let Foles go in 2019 free agency and signed Wentz to a lucrative four-year contract extension that starts in 2021. But Roseman drafted Hurts in the second round of last spring’s draft, and Wentz reacted to that lack of confidence by turning in the worst season of his career.
Pederson eventually benched Wentz for good and inserted Hurts in a Week 13 loss in Green Bay. Hurts played pretty well, but Pederson and the Eagles entered the offseason on a low note by appearing to tank their final game against Washington.
The decision appeared to go way above Pederson’s head, as the Eagles organization sat several starters in a game that would decide the NFC East’s champion.
Then Pederson went for a 4th-and-goal from the 4 yard line down by three points in the third quarter, when a field goal would have tied the game. And he benched Hurts for Sudfeld in the fourth quarter, which shocked and angered multiple players, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Pederson could not have gone rogue, however, and Lurie still has not answered for his team’s tactics that handed Washington the division, eliminated the Giants, and improved the Eagles’ draft slot from No. 9 to No. 6.
Despite Lurie’s possible role in that final week charade, however, the Eagles’ owner was said to be disappointed in Pederson’s initial plans to fix this mess in 2021 after their first post-season meeting last week. And a Monday meeting that reportedly took place in Florida solidified his decision.
Pederson, meanwhile, was tired of taking direction from the owners’ suite and front office and having his hands tied on important decisions.
He reportedly threatened to quit prior to the 2020 NFL season when Lurie and Roseman pressured him into firing offensive coordinator Mike Groh.
There were too many cooks in the kitchen on Pederson’s offensive staff this past season. And the Eagles have been one of the most injury-plagued franchises in the league since Roseman oversaw the overhaul of their training and medical staff following the Super Bowl run.
With Pederson out, Washington’s first-year coach Ron Rivera is now the longest-tenured coach in the NFC East having been hired on Dec. 31, 2019. He is followed by the Cowboys’ Mike McCarthy (Jan. 7, 2020) and the Giants’ Joe Judge (Jan. 8, 2020).
Roseman has unique job security, meanwhile, despite a roster that has gotten worse each year since the Eagles’ championship.
The team has gone from 13-3 in 2017 to back-to-back 9-7 seasons and now 4-11-1 in the 2020 NFC East, one of the worst divisions in league history.
Roseman’s fourth coach pairing will follow his work with Andy Reid, Chip Kelly and Pederson.
The Eagles are now the seventh team with a head coaching vacancy in this hiring cycle, joining the Chargers, Texans, Jaguars, Jets, Falcons and Lions.