The Eagles made a slightly surprising move in firing Head Coach Doug Pederson on Monday. What does that mean for the team?
Does Carson Wentz have a second chance with the Eagles?
If the reports of a fractured relationship between Wentz and Pederson are true, then this may just signify hope for the face of the franchise. Wentz had a dismal season and deserved to be benched, but it’s not like the Eagles really gave him a helping hand this season.
From the drafting of Jalen Hurts down to a broken offensive line and an offense that lacked a consistent run-game as well as a varied playbook, Wentz looked doomed to fail. Pederson being taken out of the equation, this may well be a sign that the team wants to fix Wentz.
It’s a 50/50. On one hand, one of Pederson’s ideas that Lurie reportedly disagreed with was the promotion of Press Taylor to offensive coordinator. If that notion was indeed washed away, that demands a huge sigh of relief, even if Carson Wentz likely disagrees. On the other hand, Pederson and Wentz have been married into this offense since 2016 and one would assume that if anyone could help fix the NDSU product, it would be a former quarterback once praised for his emotional intelligence.
Pederson’s exit is essentially a coin-flip. It’s either a double-down on Carson Wentz, or a pulling of the plug.
Lurie listened to the noise
If there is one thing that Doug Pederson did consistently since being appointed as Head Coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, it was unify the locker room through times of adversity. Whether there were ‘anonymous sources‘, contract holdouts, offseason arrests, or a slew of injuries, Pederson kept his team firing on all cylinders, rallying the troops to three consecutive playoff berths.
Pederson appeared disgruntled. He was snappy in press conferences, passive-aggressive to reporters, and looked like he needed a break. After deciding to pull Jalen Hurts in what became the infamous ‘tankgate‘, numerous Eagles players voiced their frustration. Weeks before that, Jason Kelce had praised the team for what felt like an attitude on a completely different spectrum. The Eagles, for the first time, were vocally angry at their Head Coach.
If he was hired for his emotional intelligence, he have been fired for its disappearance in a bid to stop the locker room from completely falling apart.
Eagles offense will look very different next year
Rich Scangarello is already out of the picture and now Doug Pederson is too. The Eagles are blowing up the offensive coaching staff and it would not be surprising to see a few more coaches follow suit. Who steps up and replaces the previous offensive coordinator by committee effort is anyone’s guess, but the group will likely look very different than it did last year.
No more disconnect
For whatever reason, there appeared to be a disconnect between the front office and coaching staff. It felt like Roseman would draft a group of square pegs while Pederson refused to mold his circular holes into a better fit for them. This war waged on and on, eventually leaving the offense with players who were acquired to do one thing, but forced to play in a scheme that does anything but enhance their strengths.
Whose fault this remained a mystery. Pederson was on record saying that he wanted more say in those kinds of moves, potentially clearing his name, but regardless, whoever replaces him will have to be on the same page as Roseman.
Pederson was reportedly ‘tired of speaking out’. I can’t see the team hiring a coach who will challenge front office moves in the same way.
How the Eagles enforce this is once again beyond me, but there is no way the team can allow another disconnect that’s so crystal clear.
Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire
