Doug Pederson reportedly interviewing for the Jaguars’ head coaching job this week

Doug Pederson is scheduled to interview for the Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coaching job this week, according to a report from NFL insider Tom Pelissero.

The Jags are taking advantage of the NFL’s (potentially temporary) new rule allowing teams with coaching vacancies to officially start speaking with candidates with two weeks remaining in the regular season.

Jacksonville’s interest in Pederson doesn’t come as a surprise; it was previously rumored that there was mutual interest.

Pederson’s appeal is obvious; he’s a Super Bowl-winning head coach. And not just any Super Bowl-winning head coach, but one who went on a championship run with a backup quarterback at the helm. Not to mention the Eagles were missing some other key players due to injury when they defeated the New England Patriots on February 4, 2018.

Things obviously didn’t trend in the right direction for the Birds after they won their title. Pederson was fired after a 4-11-1 finish in 2020. He was hardly the only reason for the Eagles’ struggles, though, with Carson Wentz and Howie Roseman also playing big parts in the team’s demise.

Pederson deserves a shot to show what he can do with a new franchise. I worry that he might be doomed to fail with the Jags since they’re seemingly sticking with Trent Baalke as their general manager and they’ve been a really bad franchise. But maybe Pederson can be the one to help turn them around? And get Trevor Lawrence on a good path?

We’ll see. There’s no guarantee the Jags go with Dougie P as their guy. They’re also reportedly interested in interviewing Byron Leftwich (who has obvious connections to the Jags), Todd Bowles, Kellen Moore, Dan Quinn, and Matt Eberflus. They’ve also been linked to Jim Caldwell.

Even if Pederson isn’t hired by Jacksonville, he could have opportunities elsewhere in the league. The Las Vegas Raiders have an opening after firing Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock, a Philly native, knows Pederson well. The Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings (please don’t go to Minny, Doug!), Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers, and Seattle Seahawks also might have openings.