Jaguars' Doug Pederson Lands at No. 7 in HC Rankings

The Jaguars' head coach is one of the best in the entire NFL, according to PFF.

There is no doubt that the Jaguars have found their leader. 

After years of looking for the right fit at head coach, the Jaguars made the brilliant decision to hire former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson in 2022, leading to a playoff run and a new era. 

After the Jaguars' major turnaround in 2022, Pederson found himself in the top-10 of PFF's head coach rankings, slotting in at No. 7 behind Andy Reid, Bill Belichick, Mike Tomlin, Kyle Shanahan, John Harbaugh, and Sean McVay.

"Pederson is a top-10 lock for this coaching list. First, he was the head coach of the legendary Eagles team that won it all in 2017 — with Nick Foles, mind you, who earned an elite 91.9 passing grade for that playoff run and a 62.2 passing grade for his career since then," PFF said.

"Pederson's quarterback guru abilities extend to his current spot, as he helped Trevor Lawrence revive his career from what was thought to be a death sentence under former Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer. Lawrence’s PFF passing grade jumped from 61.4 to 76.1 from year one of Meyer to year one of Pederson, which included a run where Lawrence’s 88.5 passing grade from Week 9 on ranked second only to Joe Burrow," PFF said.

“There’s a lot of things to point to, but I don’t think you point to anything greater than Doug’s (Head Coach Doug Pederson) influence as a leader,” Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke said after the season when asked why the Jaguars turned their fortunes around. 

“When you have someone at the top that’s as steady as Doug is, as fearless as he is, and really as authentic. Those are three things I think of when I think of the way Doug’s led this organization and this football team that really stand out, and people get behind that. When you’re authentic, you’re the same guy every day, and you’re fearless as a leader, people—players, staff, fan bases—it’s encouraging, and it’s engaging.”

Jacksonville finished 9-8 in the regular season, recovering from a 3-7 record and winning the AFC South in Week 18 before defeating the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wild Card Round.

The Jaguars increased their win total by six wins (from three to nine) this season, tying Detroit for the largest improvement in wins in 2022. Jacksonville’s six-win increase was the highest by any team with a new head coach.