With pressure continuing to mount on the Eagles to pull the trigger on a move that will kickstart a transformative offseason, Doug Pederson has been pushed into the firing line. Is he really the right target?
In 1994, Jeffrey Lurie bought the Eagles amidst massive amounts of blunders from the previous organizational structure. Lurie took a team filled with organizational malpractice and built it into one of the true powers of the NFL. Now, 26 years later, it appears he and his henchman, Howie Roseman, have put the Eagles right back where they were before:
The doormat of the NFL.
Weeks after hearing that Doug Pederson would remain the Head Coach in Philadelphia for 2021, another story has been thrown into to the offseason circus.
This of course comes after a meeting between Lurie and Pederson – one that was supposed to solidify a long-term plan. Instead, all it seems to have done is drive some conflicting reports into the fray.
If Lurie and Rosman do decide to move on from Doug, it will enforce one major plot point that has been creeping its ugly head since 2010: Lurie and Roseman appear to care about national perception a little too much.
National Perception
After the team “tanked” in Week 17 to finish the year 4-11-1, for some reason, the National Perception was that Doug needed to be fired for his…insolence? I guess?
The National media did not.
If Lurie and Roseman decide to fire Doug, it will mean going against what the fanbase actually wanted in order to restore salvation with the national media.
In the end, it’s more of a reflection on who the Owner of the Eagles has become.
The Fanbase
The Eagles fanbase has always gotten the short end of the stick. The perceived narrative is that Eagles fans are “crazy” and “toxic to the core”. In reality, the Eagles fans are some of the more intelligent in the NFL.
They understand the biggest problem with this team isn’t Doug Pederson, or Carson Wentz, or the coaching. That issue is with an overreaching Owner that continues to double down on a GM who is perceived as one of football’s brightest minds, but whose actions juxtapose that title.
Whether it’s a string of draft classes filled with whiffs, or the fact that every free agency class after that iconic 2017 season has been questionable at best, Roseman’s glow is beginning to dim.
Players like L.J Fort, and Jordan Hicks are allowed to walk away freely, while Jason Peters is seemingly retained at all costs. The call to draft a QB in the second round of this year’s draft might well have been the catalyst for the demise of Carson Wentz, and now the team is in a $70M cap hole. But still, not a single thing has been said about this very clear regression.
Jeffery Lurie allowing the discussion to be centered around his coaching staff and QB, while nothing is said of his GM.
Doug Pederson has a fatal flaw
Doug hasn’t made things easy for himself. His “head in the sand” approach to his coaching staff and inability to change have been big reasons why we reached at this point.
In the end, if Doug is fired, Howie is the first GM in NFL History to survive three different coaching changes and not lose his job.
Make it make sense.
Eagles fans demand change after an abysmal year, but the ownership just doesn’t see exactly what those adjustments need to be. How many more seasons will Roseman be let off the hook in a franchise that was once built on accountability? Only time will tell…
Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire
