Just three years after leading the Philadelphia Eagles to the franchise’s first Super Bowl, head coach Doug Pederson has been fired.
According to sources close to the organization, Pederson had a meeting with Eagles brass in Florida where he was set to present his plan for fixing the team, which finished with a woeful 4-11-1 record this year.
Eagles owner and CEO Jeffrey Lurie announced after the meeting that he believes that it would in the best interest of both the Eagles and Pederson to part ways.
The relationship between Pederson and the Eagles front office has been a very rocky one as of late. Many believe that Pederson was not happy with the amount of influence the front office had on staffing decisions.
For example, one day after Pederson announced that Mike Groh would be coming back as offensive coordinator in January 2020, the Eagles fired Groh.
Pederson also planned to promote passing game coordinator Press Taylor to offensive coordinator, which might have been another move that didn’t sit well with the front office.
Another big reason for Pederson’s fractured relationship with management is the recent performance of quarterback Carson Wentz, who was supposed to be the Eagles franchise quarterback for many years to come after signing a huge contract extension.
After an absolutely dismal performance in 2020, Wentz still has $128 million left on his deal, meaning that it might be impossible to trade him.
The Eagles are most likely banking on the idea that Wentz could turn his career around with the help of the right head coach and a new offensive system in place.
