Philadelphia Eagles fans should be rooting against the Chiefs in the 2016 NFL playoffs

The Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots are scheduled to face off in the Divisional round of the 2016 NFL playoff schedule on Saturday afternoon. Eagles fans will have the chance to watch their future head coach, current Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson, go up against Bill Belichick. Despite connections to Pederson and former Philadelphia head coach Andy Reid, however, Eagles fans should NOT be rooting for the Chiefs on Saturday. A Kansas City loss is more beneficial to the Eagles.

The Birds are currently stuck in a holding pattern until the Chiefs lose. They can't officially announce the Pederson hire. The delay is also potentially making it more difficult for Pederson to fill out the rest of his coaching staff. This is an especially important task for a rookie head coach like Pederson. He especially needs a strong supporting cast. If the Chiefs lose, Pederson will be able to immediately focus on his new job.

If the Chiefs win, the soonest the Eagles can announce the hire is a week from this coming Monday: Jan. 25. That's assuming the Chiefs lose the AFC Championship Game. If Kansas City goes all the way to the Super Bowl, the Eagles can't officially hire Pederson until Feb. 8. That would be a lot of wasted time between now and then.

On the flip side, maybe Eagles fans would enjoy seeing the Chiefs win the Super Bowl because it'd mean they're getting a coordinator from a championship team. It would also mean Big Red getting his first Super Bowl championship as a head coach. This might not be the worst consolation prize.

Overall, though, it's important for the Eagles to see the Chiefs lose so they can get the ball rolling and move forward with Pederson. I'm sure Eagles fans don't enjoy rooting for the Patriots, but you'll have to suck it up.

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