Doug Pederson reportedly interviews for Saints head coaching job

The buzz surrounding Doug Pederson as a head coaching candidate has really cooled off recently but there’s still a chance he can land a job. The former Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl-winning head coach interviewed with the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, according to a report from NFL insider Ian Rapoport.

The Saints’ interest in Pederson doesn’t come as a surprise considering he’s good friends with Sean Payton, who recently announced he’s stepping aside.

Pederson is one of four candidates said to be in contention for the Saints job. The others are Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen (easy in-house promotion option), former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, and Detroit Lions defensive coordinator (and former Saints assistant) Aaron Glenn.

If I had to guess, I don’t think the Saints will go with Pederson as Payton’s replacement. For Doug’s sake, I’d like to be wrong. For the sake of Eagles fans, I’d like to be right. Rooting for Pederson to succeed in New Orleans would not be as easy as it would if he landed elsewhere.

As of this publish, there are still five head coach openings:

• New Orleans Saints
• Minnesota Vikings
• Miami Dolphins
• Jacksonville Jaguars
• Houston Texans

In addition to interviewing with the Saints, Pederson has drawn interest from the Jags and Vikings. But it currently doesn’t seem like he’s a finalist for those jobs. Will Pederson settle for an offensive coordinator job if he gets shut out of the head coaching cycle again? Or will the Saints be the team to give Doug a second chance?

We’ll find out soon enough.