Former NFL head coach Doug Pederson has been out of the NFL since being fired by the Philadelphia Eagles back in January of this year. He was hired by the Eagles in 2016 to replace now-UCLA head coach Chip Kelly after almost three years.
Pederson is now reportedly interested in getting back on the NFL sideline in 2022. The former Eagles head coach is interested in the only current NFL head coaching vacancy: the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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Read: Why did the Eagles fire Doug Pederson?
According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports and his sources, Pederson wants to be the next head coach of the Jaguars:
"Former Super Bowl winning head coach Doug Pederson, who has used his year out of the coaching ranks to study the league and mull potential opportunities, would very much be interested in interviewing with Jacksonville.”
La Canfora continues on about Pederson’s interest in going to Jacksonville:
“Pederson has already secured assurances from the men who would comprise his staff about their willingness to join him, and Khan may prefer to hire a coach with significant NFL head coaching experience after the Meyer debacle."
Pederson was 42-37-1 in his five years for the Eagles, including winning the franchise’s first ever Super Bowl in the 2017 season by defeating the New England Patriots 41-33. Before taking the Philadelphia job, he spent three years as the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs under head coach Andy Reid.
Pederson previously worked for Reid when Reid was the head coach a for the Eagles. From 2009-2010, Pederson was hired as the Eagles’ offensive quality control, then promoted to quarterbacks coach in 2011 and then followed Reid to the Chiefs in 2013 to be his offensive coordinator.
Should the Jaguars Pursue Pederson?
It's not every day that a Super Bowl-winning head coach is available. Kind of like Mike McCarthy was for the Dallas Cowboys in January 2020 after 13 years with the Greenbay Packers. Pederson, McCarthy took a year away from the NFL before entering back in. The question is, would Pederson and the Jaguars be a rotational fit?
One thing that works in Pederson's favor is that he is of an offensive background this mesh work well because the Jaguars drafted Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence number one overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. Plus, he has a little more experience than former Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer, who was fired after 13 games, having little success at the NFL level.
Seeing Pederson work with Lawrence would be something to behold, but we will see what Jaguars owner Shad Khan does.
Read: "I just apologize to Jacksonville" - Urban Meyer remorseful in first interview since being fired