Why did the Philadelphia Eagles draft Jalen Hurts? Doug Pederson explains why it wasn't to undermine Carson Wentz

Former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson has publicly stated that drafting rookie QB Jalen Hurts was not to undercut then franchise quarterback Carson Wentz.

When the Eagles drafted Jalen Hurts 53rd overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, it came across as somewhat of a baffling decision. In a recent interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio, the Super Bowl-winning coach explained the decision to draft another quarterback last year.

"You know, you go into drafts and you go into each year looking for quarterbacks," Pederson said. "And we continued to look for quarterbacks, and that's always something that will never change. We won a Super Bowl with our backup quarterback. And we've had to play with our backups a couple of times in Philadelphia. So we did that a year ago and brought in Jalen Hurts -- not to undermine Carson Wentz, not to do anything to take away his job or anything, cause Carson was definitely our starter. He was the franchise and all that moving forward. But someone that could come in and could be the backup and learn how to play the NFL game — bring his talent to the Philadelphia Eagles."

Former #Eagles Head Coach Doug Pederson discussed last season, Carson Wentz and Jalen Hurts, and how he reflects on his time in Philadelphia.Take a listen to what he told us recently...⬇️AUDIO⬇️ | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/wLZRkH9bFK

— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) July 7, 2021

Eagles' season spiralled out of control

Last season went from bad to worse for the Philadelphia Eagles due to injuries and inconsistent play from quarterback Carson Wentz.

Pederson refused to lay the blame on one player and said he had hoped to get the opportunity to revive the Eagles' fortunes this season.

"And really, as the season began, things just started to kind of I guess spiral out of control," Pederson said. "Injuries began to set in. We weren't playing very well. Turnovers offensively, just a number of things, penalties, more injuries compounded problems, and it just became harder and harder as the year wore on. No one person is to blame for any of what happened last year. And it's just unfortunate for me because I was hoping to really have an opportunity to fix the issues that we had and kind of get everything back on track — whether it was going to be this year or the next year. And, obviously, that didn't happen. I don't spend a lot of time thinking about the ifs, ands, and buts. I just focus on the future and look forward to that."

Former coach of the year seeking another opportunity

The former Eagles head coach who beat Bill Belichick and Tom Brady at Super Bowl LII is now looking forward to getting another chance as a head coach in the NFL.

"Obviously my goal in my hiring in 2016 was to hopefully bring a championship to Philadelphia and we accomplished that in our second year there," Pederson said. "So, I look back on my time and there were a lot of positives I take from it. But I'm not going to dwell too much on the past. I'm gonna learn from it, obviously, and hopefully if I get an opportunity to coach again, which I hope I can do, I'll take the good with me. "