Doug Pederson? Really?
Anyone else get the idea that maybe in his zeal to show Chip Kelly the door, Eagles owner Jeff Lurie had not completetly thought all this through?
Or maybe this was the idea all along, that Lurie in fact actually wanted Pederson, the guy who served as Andy Reid's stand-in at quarterback for nine games in Donovan McNabb's rookie year before handing the team over to the Syracuse product.
Pederson was back in Philly a decade later, joining Reid's staff as quarterbacks coach. He followed Big Red to Kansas City, where he has served as offensive coordinator.
It now appears almost a certainty that Pederson is headed back to Philly, this time as head coach.
Yesterday the team said they had completed their interview process and no other interviews would be held. But they were not yet ready to make a formal announcement. That certainly would point to Pederson getting the job. The Eagles can't formally roll him out until the Chiefs are done in the playoffs. They play New England this weekend.
All of this comes after a wild day that saw Tom Coughlin pull his name out of the running for the Eagles job, and fired coach Chip Kelly land on his feet as the new boss of the San Francisco 49ers.
Raise your hand if you predicted Kelly would land a new gig before Jeff Lurie replaced him.
Lurie and Roseman are going to feel plenty of heat over this choice, and their interview process in general.
One of the first names mentioned after Kelly was jettisoned was Sean McDermott, the defensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers. McDermott is a local guy who probably got a raw deal when he tried to fill the shoes of the Birds' beloved defensive coordinator Jim Johnson. But Lurie and Roseman apparently never reached out to him.
They did sit down with a couple of hot coordinators, Adam Gase, who ran the Bears' offense and is believed responsible for reviving Kay Cutler's career, and Ben McAdoo, the guy behind the Giants' offense and Eli Manning's resurgence. They also talked to a couple of guys in-house, offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, who many believe could be the key to keeping quarterback Sam Bradford, and running backs coach Duce Staley.
There is a huge figure whose shadow is cast all over this development. That would belong to the man who coached the Eagles for 14 years. Andy Reid is believed to have reached out to his old pal Lurie and rave about Pederson. Jack McCaffery talks about that here.
Jeff Lurie made it clear when he dumped Kelly with a game left in the season that he wanted to take back his team.
He didn't mention he wanted to return to the Andy Reid Era.
It's unfair to rip Pederson because he was a fairly mediocre quarterback for the Eagles. He'll be judged by what he does as a coach.
But he should be forewarned. It's not likely fans are going to put out the Welcome Wagon.
Welcome to the Doug Pederson Era.
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