Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson will become the Eagles’ next head coach, a person familiar with the situation said.
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On Thursday, Jan. 14, multiple media outlets reported that Pederson, who was born in Bellingham in 1968, will be named the 23rd head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, succeeding Chip Kelly.
Pederson, who started nine games at quarterback for the Eagles in 1999, also could be looking at former Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz, who was most recently the Buffalo Bills’ defensive coordinator in 2014, before spending 2015 as a consultant for the NFL’s officiating department.
ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski thinks the Eagles chose the right man to fill their head coaching void in current Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson.
“He’s a great mentor of mine, obviously, as you know”, Pederson said of Reid. “We love him just as much as any coach on here”.
Pederson’s interview came one day after Kansas City ended a 22-year drought without a playoff win in a 30-0 romp in Houston. This report comes after Ben McAdoo (Who was hired by the New York Giants today) who as of yesterday was the “leading candidate” to become the Eagles next coach, Tom Coughlin who as of this morning look like he was gonna be the next coach. It will be the first head coaching job for Pederson, the former National Football League quarterback.
But with the Pederson era lurking just around the corner.it’s interesting to see that there hasn’t really been any negative comments from players/personnel that have worked with him.
Philadelphia won’t officially announce Pederson’s hiring until the Chiefs are eliminated from the playoffs, but an Eagles spokesman said Thursday that the team has “concluded our search for a head coach”.
With Adam Gase on his way to Miami, the Philadelphia Eagles coaching search remains “in house”. Kelly was 26-21 in three seasons with the Eagles but players and owner Jeffrey Lurie criticized his management style. I think he’s going to do great things there.
Reid has some in-house options, including assistant head coach/receivers coach David Culley, who was reportedly a candidate for the Lions’ offensive coordinator job in 2014.
Those decisions on top assistants likely will determine Pederson’s ultimate success or failure more than anything else he does after taking over. He understands defenses, what they present. Pederson is also in charge of the Chiefs’ red zone offense. In Pederson, signed by the Eagles as a free agent, Reid found a veteran quarterback who could start until McNabb was ready.
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Pederson’s limited track record as a coach is helped by a 12-year playing career.
