Pederson should be a leading candidate for Jaguars job

Should be plenty of candidates to be the next head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Rookie Trevor Lawrence alone makes it a desirable situation for any coach, much less one who knows how to get the most out of his quarterbacks.

In the unlikely event interim head coach Darrell Bevell and the 2-11 Jaguars win out with Lawrence playing out of his mind, owner Shahid Khan and his management team will think long and hard about wasting another season of Lawrence. That’s been the case under Urban Meyer, fired last week following a laundry list of issues, some embarrassing to the organization.

Already, former Jaguars quarterback and current Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich has emerged as a candidate, according to whispers around the league. Leftwich would be an excellent choice although he doesn’t have experience as a head coach.

Which brings me to another candidate who has it all, including a Super Bowl championship ring — Doug Pederson. A source close to Pederson, who helped the Eagles beat the Patriots in SB LII, said he definitely would be interested if the position opened up after the season.

Interestingly enough, Pederson was under consideration for the offensive coordinator job of the Jaguars that went to Bevell. While it’s unclear why Pederson didn’t turn out to be the guy, it’s entirely possible he was uneasy about a partnership with Meyer, the ultimate micromanager. Had Meyer listened to a coach who knew how the NFL worked, he would have had a better chance of succeeding. Pederson brings 10 years as a player and five as a head coach (42-37-1, .531).

Looking at the early speculation, there is no better manager of the quarterback position out there than Pederson, although Brian Daboll, offensive coordinator of the Bills, has done a sensational job developing quarterback Josh Allen. Daboll has no head coaching experience.

Pederson not only groomed Carson Wentz into a near-franchise player, he found a way to win a Super Bowl with backup Nick Foles when his flamethrower was hurt. Pederson won with Foles when Wentz was hurt the following season and took the fall replacing the slumping Wentz with Jalen Hurts, disastrous as that chapter was in Eagles history.

Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is going to be a head coach somewhere in 2022, and he would be an interesting addition to the Jaguars.

The real question right now is what Khan wants to do with a management team that includes general manager Trent Baalke. Also in management is senior personnel executive Tommy Gamble, who worked for the Eagles in various front office roles, most recently with Chip Kelly. Both ultimately were fired. Gamble, per reports, interviewed for the Jaguars’ general manager job that went to Dave Caldwell in 2013.

Khan has a lot on his plate, the direction of his organization at a critical junction.

Put yourself in his shoes. Would you rather roll with an aspiring prospect like Bevell, who with Seattle called a play for Russell Wilson to throw to his third option instead of giving the ball to Marshawn Lynch at the one-yard line in Super Bowl XLIX, resulting in a Malcolm Butler interception and a 28-24 loss to the Patriots with 20 seconds left?

Or would you rather roll with the guy with the nerve to run the Philly Special in the Super Bowl?