Doug Pederson’s status with the Philadelphia Eagles is very much a question mark right now.
Early Sunday morning, Chris Mortenson and Tim McManus of ESPN reported that Pederson’s position with his team is “not firm, and he could be out if owner Jeffrey Lurie is not confident about Pederson’s vision for the team after they meet again soon.”
Apparently, Lurie’s is not happy with how Pederson handled the Carson Wentz situation and is no longer confident in his head coach’s ability to navigate the organization out of its current basement dweller status.
Shortly after the ESPN report went live, rumors began to circulate of a possible trade involving Pederson.
Although there were initially no additional team names attached to the rumor, Eagles insider John McMullen eventually came out and offered some clarity.
If a Pederson trade were to occur, it would send him to the New York Jets.
That talk about a coach being traded is whispers about Doug Pederson to the #NYJets
— John McMullen (@JFMcMullen) January 10, 2021
While the idea of Philly trading Pederson to New York is unconventional, it is not as crazy as it sounds. Currently, the Jets are eying Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, and Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll to fill the vacancy left behind by soon-to-be New England Patriots assistant Adam Gase.
O.J. has a simple question for America. https://t.co/w1ucZarCdF
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 9, 2021
Would Pederson really be a worse option than any of those three? He has won a Super Bowl as a head coach and knows exactly what is necessary to restore a bad team to prominence.
The biggest argument against New York trading for Pederson isn’t that he would be a bad fit, it’s that the Jets can’t afford to give up trade capital right now. The team has holes at everything from cornerback to offensive line, and sacrificing the opportunity to fill some of those for the sake of adding a head coach makes little sense.
Also complicating matters is Pederson’s perilous overall status as Eagles coach. After all, why would the Jets trade for someone they can just hire when/if he gets fired?
The Bucks owner’s daughter decided to bring 2021 in with a bang by stripping all her clothes off. https://t.co/UgzhEEna4o
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 7, 2021
Pederson’s time in Philly speaks for itself. He guided the franchise to a Super Bowl title in 2017, the playoffs in 2018 and 2019, and a 4-11-1 mark in 2020.
Does one bad, injury-plagued year really justify getting rid of him?
It’s beginning to look like, at least in the eyes of Lurie, the answer is yes.
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