On Monday, the Philadelphia Eagles announced that Doug Pederson will be the new head coach. The Eagles agreed to a deal with Pederson on Thursday but couldn’t be formally hired until the Chiefs’ playoff run ended which occurred on Saturday. According to ESPN Eagles Owner Jeff Lurie “We are excited to introduce Doug Pederson as our new head coach. Doug is a strategic thinker, a compelling leader and communicator, and someone who truly knows how to get the best out of his players. All of these factors were what initially attracted us to Doug and we believe that he is the right man to help us achieve our ultimate goal.” Pederson has never been a head coach in the NFL. What kind of move is this for the Eagles?
The Eagles are familiar with Doug Pederson. He suited up for the Eagles as a player in 1999. His record as a starting quarterback for Philadelphia was 2-7. Pederson played 12 NFL seasons for 3 teams. This included the Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins, and the Philadelphia Eagles. When his playing days were over he was the offensive quality control coordinator from 2009 to 2010 for the Eagles.
From 2011 to 2012 he was upgraded to the Eagles’ quarterbacks coach. The past three seasons he served as the Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive coordinator. He assisted the Chiefs to go all the way to the Divisional round this year.
Pederson is taking over a team that went 7-9. The offense was average. They scored 23.6 points per game. They gained 364.4 yards and passed for 255.4 yards per game. Those numbers need to improve next season. They have the quarterback in Sam Bradford and Mark Sanchez. Both can lead this football team. Pederson will have to upgrade the offensive line as they gave up 37 sacks. This is too many sacks on the quarterback.
The area that Pederson needs to enhance is the defense. The defense was
one of the worst in the league. They gave up 26.9 points per game and 401 yards per game. The Eagles were last in rush yards giving up 134.6 yards on the ground. Pederson hired Jim Schwartz as defensive coordinator. They should be better defensively under the leadership of Schwartz.
The Eagles may not improve in the standings next year but they have the coach to lead this football team. Jeff Lurie needs to give Pederson a few years to make them a winner.
What do you think of Philadelphia hiring Pederson?
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