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Here’s the thing about firing Super Bowl champion coaches. It’s a very hard thing to do.
Doug Pederson has built up a ton of equity in Philadelphia in his five years guiding the Eagles. He has the third-best winning percentage (.575) and fifth-most wins (38) in franchise history, plus the priceless distinction of bringing home the organization’s first-ever Lombardi Trophy. As bad as Philly has looked through three weeks, it would take a lot more than a 0-2-1 start to get Pederson’s head on the chopping block.
Still, that hasn’t stopped fans from starting an online petition to fire the Eagles head coach. Nicholas Parker has started one, via Change.org, following the Eagles’ embarrassing 23-23 tie on Sunday against Cincinnati. It hasn’t yet picked up any traction — only one person has signed the petition — but the word is just going out about its existence.
Why is it time for Pederson to go? Parker wrote: “Doug Pederson is a terrible play caller and is ruining Carson wentz’s career. We won’t win until he’s gone. MAKE IT HAPPEN!” The fan unrest will likely only get louder should this dumpster-fire of a season continue to burn.
NFL: Fire Doug Pederson – Sign the Petition! t.co/DJj9Mtfhu7 via @Change #Eagles #FlyEaglesFly #Wentz #EaglesTwitter #EaglesvsBengals
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Early Coaching Candidates to Replace Pederson
It’s way too early to seriously entertain the idea of replacing Pederson in Philly. He’s three years removed from a Super Bowl championship, the first one in franchise history. Plus, the head coach has a strong working relationship with both the front office and the franchise quarterback. However, there are some interesting candidates out there. Let’s take a quick look at them.
Eric Bieniemy: Andy Reid’s top assistant and offensive coordinator in Kansas City somehow received no head-coaching offers — Bieniemy shockingly wasn’t even interviewed last year — despite helping architect arguably the most dynamic offense in football. The Chiefs ranked sixth in total offense in 2019 and first in total offense in 2018 under his watch. The former running back also has loose connections to Philly having played there in 1999. The 51-year-old is an incredible young coaching talent who won’t stay an assistant much longer.
You know who I would love to see coach Carson Wentz, Miles Sanders, Jalen Reagor, Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert?
Eric Bieniemy.
James Urban: The hottest candidate likely to be poached in Baltimore is offensive coordinator Greg Roman. Look further down the coaching depth chart. Urban was a popular name to replace Mike Groh last year in Philly but chose to mentor Lamar Jackson as Ravens quarterbacks coach. Smart move. With one more year under his belt, the 46-year-old should be ready to jump ship. He has a long history of developing mobile quarterbacks, too. Urban was a long-time assistant for the Eagles (2004-2010) and turned Mike Vick loose in 2010. His ties to the Philly area go back to his time at Penn. If the Eagles want to better acclimate Jalen Hurts into the offense, this is the move.
Ravens QB coach James Urban on Lamar Jackson: “We do want to improve the pocket passing consistency. Certainly, he had great flashes of it. We’re just always chasing perfection.”
Brian Daboll: Don’t look now but the Bills have the fourth-best offense in football and there are not many coaches with a more impressive resume than Daboll. He’s a five-time Super Bowl champion as an assistant for Bill Belichick in New England, plus he won a national championship as offensive coordinator at Alabama under Nick Saban. Now he’s the offensive coordinator in Buffalo. It’s a very small sample size in 2020, only three games: 93 points, 1,302 total yards — plus he’s shaping Josh Allen into an MVP quarterback. Impressive.
The @BuffaloBills ran 58 plays today and their OC Brian Daboll used motion AT the snap on 22 of those snaps. Constantly changing the formation strength at the snap—nuclear. 👏👏
Joe Brady: Want someone really outside-the-box? Brady is the guy. The youngest offensive coordinator in football at 31 after joining Matt Rhule’s Carolina staff in what was seen as a rebuilding year. But Brady has the Panthers eighth in total offense (1,117 yards) while Teddy Bridgewater is thriving: 871 passing yards, 97.1 QB rating. He was already a rising star after leading LSU to a national title in 2019 as a passing-game coordinator. Prior to that, Brady was an offensive assistant under Sean Payton in New Orleans. He’s the real deal.
Kevin O’Connell: Sean McVay’s offensive coordinator in Los Angeles is a former NFL quarterback (sound familiar?) who was drafted in the third round. Much like Doug Pederson, he was a career backup but he soaked up all those experiences like a sponge. He was credited for helping mold Dwayne Haskins last year in Washington and he’s taken the “training wheels off” of Jared Goff this year. O’Connell is a quarterback whisperer first and foremost and counts Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Jaguars offensive coordinator Jay Gruden as personal friends.
Sean McVay/Kevin O’Connell SERIOUSLY out-coached the Eagles brain trust on THAT drive.
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Top 5 NFL Coaching Candidates to Replace Eagles’ Doug Pederson