Former NFL GM says Doug Pederson “might be less qualified to coach a team than anyone I’ve ever seen”

The NFL season is right around the corner and the HOT TAKES are already heating up.

I couldn’t help but share what former NFL general manager Mike Lombardi, who now works for The Ringer, had to say about Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson.

“My beloved 76ers once hired a guy by the name of Roy Rubin from Long Island University. Poor Roy. He finished 4-47 before the Sixers canned him. 4-47! Years later, Fred Carter said ‘Letting Rubin coach was like letting a teenager run a big corporation.’

Hey Fred, meet the Eagles’ head coach, Doug Pederson! Now, everybody knows Pederson isn’t a head coach. He might be less qualified to coach a team than anyone I’ve ever seen in my 30-plus years in the NFL.

Pederson was barely a coordinator before he became head coach. Can you imagined if we elected a United States president who didn’t have any real training? Sorry, don’t answer that.

Look, the Eagles looked increasingly sloppy and unprepared as the 2016 season limped along. That ain’t changing in ’17.

Only Carson Wentz can save Pederson’s job, and Wentz actually got worse during his rookie year, not better.

When will the Eagles admit their mistake? Will they throw away 2017 by stubbornly sticking to the Pederson Principle?

The immortal Roy Rubin lasted 51 games. I bet Doug Pederson lasts way less than that.”

Whew. That’s a scorcher.

Look, I’m hardly the biggest Doug Pederson defender. I was pretty critical of the hire at the time. I hardly think he’s guaranteed to be a great, or even good, head coach.

But these takes by Lombardi ... they’re just so hot.

Pederson is less qualified than anyone ever? Really? This is what we’re saying after the Eagles were one game away from being .500 last year? This is what we’re saying about an Eagles team that finished with a +36 point differential last season, which ranked ninth in the league?

The truth is Pederson still has a lot to prove. This is a very big year for him. Pederson himself said this year’s Eagles roster has more talent on it than the Packers team he won a Super Bowl with in 1997. The pressure is on to improve from last year’s 7-9 record. There’s reason for both optimism and pessimism.

There will be plenty of time to bury Pederson if he fails to live up to the expectations he set. There’s no need to completely write him off before the 2017 season even starts. Lombardi’s take is ridiculous.

[UPDATE] - Pederson responds to Lombardi’s criticism.

P.S. -- Check out this sick burn.