Doug Pederson's Options Developing, Including One Interesting Possibility
Doug Pederson may land on his feet, after all.
A market that was slow to develop after being let go by the Eagles more than a week after the regular season ended is beginning to gain traction.
The Seattle Seahawks are showing interest in Pederson being their offensive coordinator, per NFL Media.
This is what smart organizations do.
They see an opportunity that Pederson might consider based on three things:
First, Pederson is from Bellingham, Wash., a city about 20 miles south of the Canadian border and jut 90 miles from Seattle. Pederson still has roots there, so he would be closer to them.
Second, it’s no secret that Pederson liked quarterback Russell Wilson coming out of Wisconsin in 2012. Pederson was the quarterback coach in Philadelphia at the time and he also worked out Nick Foles. Wilson went 75th overall to Seattle, denying the Pederson a chance to work with him, but the Eagles took Foles 13 picks later and Pederson and Foles won a Super Bowl together five years later.
Third, Seahawks coach Peter Carroll can’t keep coaching forever. He’ll turn 70 at the start of the 2021 season and even though he has the looks and spryness of a man half that age, it would seem only a matter of a few years before he settles into retirement. If Pederson makes the kind of magic Seattle would hope he would, perhaps he could be in line to take over for Carroll in a few years.
Of course, Pederson may not want to be an OC after being a Super Bowl winning head coach, and the same NFL Media report that indicated Seattle’s interest also said that an opportunity could be available to be a head coach this year, with the Texans and Chargers in play.
Both those franchises have their franchise quarterback, though Deshaun Watson is unhappy in Houston and may want out. Justin Herbert in Los Angeles, though, is rock solid.
Brian Daboll, however, is the perceived frontrunner in L.A. and could get the job shortly after the Buffalo Bills are done playing.
Either way, there could be opportunities for Pederson.
Certainly, the Seattle possibility is one that would need to be considered.
So too, is the opportunity for Pederson to simply hunt, fish, and maybe do some analyst work on one of the may NFL pregame/postgame shows in 2021 while he recharges his coaching batteries after a long, and arduous season rife with quarterback and tanking controversies.
As for the Eagles’ head coaching search in the wake of letting Pederson go, a new name emerged in the search with a report on Saturday that indicated L.A. Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley could land an interview after permission to speak with him was granted.
The Rams had the number one-ranked defense in the league this season.
On Friday, the Eagles interviewed in-house candidate Duce Staley and New England Patriots inside linebacker coach Jerod Mayo.
Ed Kracz is the publisher of EagleMaven. Check out anything you may have missed pertaining to the Eagles by going to www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
