PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles have fired coach Doug Pederson, a source told ESPN’s Dan Graziano, who ended an association that handed out the first and only Super Bowl title in the city’s history.
Pederson was expected to remain coach despite finishing 4-11-1, but several meetings with owner Jeffrey Lurie over the past week left his head unconvinced that Pederson had a solid view of how to tackle the myriad of problems facing the team, sources said. , from navigating Carson Wentz’s situation to solving a crime that finished 26th in scoring (20.9 PPG) and 28th in passing yards (207.9 YPG) in 2020.
Lurie was also not sold according to Pederson’s plans regarding her coaching staff, sources said. Pederson pushed the move of game coordinator / quarterbacks coach Press Taylor to be elevated to offensive coordinator instead of bringing in a more established candidate. The question of how to fill the gap left by defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who plans to take the year off from football in 2021, has also not been resolved.
Wentz returned drastically in his fifth year and was replaced in training by rookie Jalen Hurts during the final quarter of the season. Wentz has planned to order a trade during the offseason because his relationship with Pederson is fractured unrepaired, according to league sources. Confidence issues between the two work in both directions, sources said, although Pederson recently said his relationship with Wentz was fine.
Pederson’s shooting significantly increases Wentz’s chances of staying in Philadelphia, according to a source Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. The situation became clear that the two working together moving forward would be difficult.
Sources describe a crime in 2020 that had no identity, in part as a result of a sizable group of assistants and consultants provided during last season who struggled to access the same page. The absence of a central view of what the offense should look like made the quarterback an upward climb and all voices created a cacophony for Pederson and Wentz, sources said.
As for Hurts, a second-round pick last April, Pederson was unclear about whether he felt like the franchise had its quarterback of the future if the Eagles moved past Wentz. The handling of the final game of the season, in which Hurts retired in favor of Nate Sudfeld in a 20-14 defeat to Washington, also left questions about whether Pederson had lost the confidence of his players.
Pederson became the eighth NFL coach to win a Super Bowl in his first two years at the helm when the Eagles beat the New England Patriots to win the Lombardi Trophy during the 2017 season. three consecutive Eagles appearances with Pederson before the wheels came out in 2020. He compiled a 46-39-1 record for five seasons with the Eagles, including four playoff wins.
ESPN’s Chris Mortensen contributed to this report.