Eagles fire Pederson after tumultuous year
The Philadelphia Eagles fired head coach Doug Pederson, less than three years after he led them to the franchise’s only Super Bowl title.
Pederson was 42371 in five seasons. He led the Eagles to two division titles and three playoff appearances before going 4111 in 2020.
Pederson met with owner Jeffrey Lurie last week and again Monday.
“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,” Lurie said in a statement.
“Coach Pederson and I had the opportunity to sit down and discuss what that collective vision would look like moving forward. After taking some time to reflect on these conversations, I believe it is in both of our best interests to part ways.”
Pederson benched Carson Wentz for the final four games after the quarterback had the worst season of his career and started rookie Jalen Hurts.
Pederson led the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory over New England in just his second season with backup quarterback Nick Foles playing after Wentz was injured.
Pederson was heavily criticized for his decision to replace Hurts with thirdstring quarterback Nate Sudfeld in the fourth quarter of a 2014 loss to Washington in Week 17. Washington’s victory cost the New York Giants the NFC East title. The loss gave the Eagles the sixth overall pick in the draft instead of the ninth.
Belichick won’t get medal:
New England head coach Bill Belichick said that he will not receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, saying “remaining true to the people, team and country I love outweigh the benefits of any individual award.”
In a oneparagraph statement, the sixtime Super Bowl winning coach did not say explicitly that he had turned down the offer from President Trump, instead explaining “the decision has been made not to move forward with the award” in the wake of Wednesday’s deadly siege on the U. S. Capitol.
“Recently, I was offered the opportunity to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which I was flattered by out of respect for what the honor represents and admiration for prior recipients,” Belichick said in a statement.
“Subsequently, the tragic events of last week occurred and the decision has been made not to move forward with the award. Above all, I am an American citizen with great reverence for our nation’s values, freedom and democracy. I know I also represent my family and the New England Patriots team.” No charges for Jacobs: Raiders running back Josh Jacobs won’t face a drivingundertheinfluence charge in his singlevehicle crash last week near Nevada’s McCarran International Airport, authorities said. Blood test results showed Jacobs’ bloodalcohol level did not reach the 0.08% level required to pursue a DUI charge, prosecutor Eric Bauman said. Briefly: Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski expects to be back with his team this week after missing Sunday night’s playoff win over Pittsburgh because of the coronavirus. Stefanski said he lost his sense of taste, but otherwise has experienced only mild symptoms. ... The Cowboys agreed to terms with former Atlanta head coach Dan Quinn to be their defensive coordinator.