Doug Pederson 'Fully Expects' to Return as Eagles' Coach in 2021

Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said that he "fully expects" to return as the team's head coach next season.

"I feel fully confident to be the head coach of the Eagles in 2021," he said during his radio appearance on Philadelphia's 94.1 WIP on Monday morning.  "The thing I'm most proud of, this football team, we have been in the postseason three of the last five years since I've been here, and that's pretty good. We have won a championship here. We have gone through a season where a lot of our veteran guys are not playing due to injury. We are playing with a lot of young players.

"There is always going to be evaluation in the offseason, and my job is evaluated as well. But I fully expect to be the coach next season, and I welcome the opportunity to get things right, get things fixed and take this team into next season." 

The Eagles were eliminated from postseason contention on Sunday after a 37-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Quarterback Jalen Hurts had two turnovers with Philadelphia in scoring range in the fourth quarter as the Eagles were shut out in the game's second half.

Hurts has started each of the team's last three games, going 2-1 in his starts. He has thrown or nearly 1,000 yards this season along with six passing touchdowns and three interceptions. He also has 320 rushing yards on the season.

The second-round pick relieved Carson Wentz, who was pulled in the team's Week 13 loss to the Packers. At the time of his benching, Wentz led the NFL with 15 interceptions thrown and had completed just 57.4% of his pass attempts. Through 12 games, he had also been sacked a league-leading 50 times. 

Pederson has been the team's head coach since 2016, and the team has made playoff appearances in each of the past three seasons. This season, however, the Eagles are in the bottom third of the league in both points scored and points allowed and have a -78 point differential entering Week 17.

The Eagles (4-10-1) will close out the season next Sunday against the Washington Football Team.