January 02, 2021
Doug Pederson is "expected" to remain the Philadelphia Eagles' head coach in 2021, according to a report from Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen of ESPN.
Eagles’ HC Doug Pederson is expected to return to Philadelphia next season, though he does have a meeting scheduled for Tuesday with team owner Jeffrey Lurie to discuss plans for the 2021 season, per @mortreport and me.https://t.co/x7cig9aRAx
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 2, 2021
In his five years with the Eagles, Pederson has compiled a 42-36-1 (.538) record, and in case you missed it, the team won their first ever Super Bowl under Pederson's stewardship. That season, the Eagles' offensive staff routinely out-schemed their defensive opponents, and Pederson pioneered an ultra-aggressive play calling and game management strategy.
When Carson Wentz tore his ACL, ending his season, Pederson and his staff rethought the offensive approach, and put Nick Foles in the best position possible to have success. That season was among the more impressive coaching performances the city of Philadelphia has ever seen.
In 2018 and 2019, lacking playmakers, the Eagles' offense was often unable to generate big plays, moving station to station, and capitalizing on trips into the red zone. Still, Pederson made due with the lack of talent at the skill positions.
In 2020, everything was bad. The talent. The coaching. The scheme. Execution. You name it, the Eagles stunk at it, and Pederson was partly culpable. Strange in-game decisions (such as playing for a tie against the Bengals), and play calling oddities (calling a fade on a crucial fourth down to a guy who literally never played an offensive snap in the NFL) were the norm, while the scheme lacked creativity and cohesion. Injuries certainly factored in, but they were nothing new, and Pederson and his staff coached through them in the past.
Heading into Week 17, the Eagles are currently dead last in one of the worst divisions in NFL history, despite having the built-in advantage of returning its head coach, defensive coordinator, and quarterback for their fifth seasons together, while the three other teams in the division were forced to implement their schemes in an unprecedented and shortened offseason as a result of the spread of COVID.
The Eagles will hope that Pederson's 2020 season is merely a one-year wart on an otherwise quality coaching career. However, Pederson's seat will be warm heading into 2021.
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