On Sunday, ESPN reporters Chris Mortensen and Tim McManus reported that Eagles head coach Doug Pederson’s status is “not firm” and that he and Lurie are set to meet again in Florida. They also reported that the first meeting “did not go well” last Tuesday.
It’s been a week since the Eagles season ended at 4-11-1, the worse record in Doug Pederson’s five years as its head coach. He previously had a record of 7-9 in his first year with the Eagles. The following year, he guided the Eagles to their first Super Bowl win in franchise history. Since winning the Super Bowl, the team has been on the decline. The Eagles would finish 9-7 two times to make the playoffs. However, they were eliminated in the Divisional Round against the Saints and the Wild Card last year against the Seahawks.
Yes, Pederson’s team has been decimated with injuries in the last two seasons and has had to play backups and practice squad players. Some of them have made a name for themselves, like Greg Ward. Now, the Eagles are watching the playoffs from home with plenty of questions heading into the offseason.
The Eagles have already lost defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, senior offensive assistant Rich Scangarello, senior offensive consultant Marty Mornhinweg, and linebackers coach Ken Flajole. Press Taylor, the Eagles passing game coordinator, is rumored to be in the front running as the team’s new offensive coordinator, that’s if Doug Pederson is still around.
If the Eagles are indeed going to part ways with Pederson, they would need to act fast. There are currently six teams in the hunt for a new head coach. They are the Jets, Jaguars, Chargers, Falcons, Lions, and Texans. On Saturday, NBC Sports reporter Mike Florio reported that one of these teams is looking to trade for a current head coach.
The last time a head coach was traded was 19 years ago when the Buccaneers acquired Jon Gruden from the Raiders for two first-round picks and two second-round picks. In 2006, the Jets traded Herm Edwards to the Kansas City Chiefs for a fourth-round pick.
So, what is taking Lurie so long to decide the fate of Pederson? Why does he need to have another meeting with Pederson? If the first meeting did not go well, why didn’t he fire him right on the spot instead of dragging it on? Unless Lurie is holding on to Pederson to trade him for draft picks instead of firing him and not get anything in return.
Even if he parted ways with Pederson, what coach will want to come here and work with Howie Roseman? Everyone knows that Roseman is bad at drafting players. The coach would want to have a say in drafting players and working with a general manager who knows talent. It’s no wonder why Chip Kelly wanted control of the team because Roseman was unable to see talent in the draft. To Kelly’s credit, he did draft Lane Johnson, Zach Ertz, Beau Allen, and Nelson Agholor, as those guys helped contributed to the Eagles winning the Super Bowl.
Only Lurie can dictate what the future is for the Philadelphia Eagles. He has the power to make the team great again. If he is going to get rid of Pederson, he should do it now and not wait before it’s too late. If he is going to demote Roseman, he needs to do it now and if Roseman does not want a demotion, then let him go.
There are coaches out there who would love to have a chance to work with Wentz, Hurts, and the other Eagles players. Heck, they probably have a better idea of how to use them than the current coaches do. But that can only happen if Lurie is willing to make a change.
