PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles have fired coach Doug Pederson, a source told ESPN’s Dan Graziano, entering into a partnership that delivered the first and only Super Bowl title in the city’s history.
Pederson was expected to remain coach despite the 4-11-1 final, but several meetings with owner Jeffrey Lurie over the past week left his boss unconvinced that Pederson had a solid vision of how to deal with the countless issues he faces. the team is facing, sources said. , from navigating the Carson Wentz situation to remedying a crime that finished 26th in the score (20.9 PPG) and 28th in the yards (207.9 YPG) in 2020.
Also, Lurie was not sold into Pederson’s plans regarding his coaching staff, sources said. Pederson pressed for the transfer coordinator / quarterbacks coach Press Taylor to be elevated to offensive coordinator, rather than bring in a more established candidate. The issue of how to fill the gap left by defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who plans to give up football in 2021, has also been resolved.
Wentz returned dramatically in his fifth year and was replaced by debutant Jalen Hurts for the final quarter of the season. Wentz has planned to ask for a transaction in the off-season, as his relationship with Pederson is fractured without repair, according to league sources. The problems of trust between the two work in both directions, the sources said, despite the fact that Pederson recently said that his relationship with Wentz was good.
Pederson’s shooting significantly increases Wentz’s chances of staying in Philadelphia, a source told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. The situation has become clear that the two who work together before will be difficult.
Sources describe a crime in 2020 that did not have an identity, partly as a result of a considerable and inappropriate group of assistants and consultants brought in the last season out of season, who tried to get on the same page. The lack of a central vision of what the offense should look like made the quarterback go up and all the voices created a cacophony for both Pederson and Wentz, sources said.
As for Hurts, a second-round pick in April last year, Pederson didn’t have a clear idea of whether he felt the franchise was the defender of the future if the Eagles were to move from Wentz. The management of the last game of the season, in which Hurts was drawn in favor of Nate Sudfeld in a 20-14 loss to Washington, also left questions about whether Pederson lost the confidence of the players.
Pederson became only the eighth NFL head coach to win a Super Bowl in his first two years in charge, when the Eagles defeated the New England Patriots to capture the Lombardi trophy during the 2017 season. This was the first of three consecutive playoff appearances for the Eagles under Pederson before the wheels came out in 2020. He compiled a 46-39-1 record in five seasons with the Eagles, including four playoff wins.
Chris Mortensen of ESPN contributed to this report.