Doug Pederson: Philly Icon to Jacksonville Favorite

The Jacksonville Jaguars made the playoffs as the champions of the AFC South in the first season of Doug Pederson’s tenure in Northeast Florida. Coming off of back-to-back seasons as the worst team in the NFL, the Jaguars won five straight games to put them back in the playoffs for the first time since 2017, their fourth playoff trip since 2000 as a franchise. After a comeback for the ages in the Wild Card round, Pederson has the Jags in a spot to continue their Cinderella run.

Doug Pederson came into Jacksonville as a Super Bowl champion with the Eagles and is an immovable icon etched in Philadelphia sports lore. A Super Bowl victory over Tom Brady with a backup quarterback in Nick Foles, including going for it on fourth down with a trick play, will do that for a man.

The following two seasons, he squeaked into the playoffs with 9-7 seasons largely plagued by injuries. A double-doink miracle in the Eagles’ repeat was ended by the Alshon Jeffrey drop with a postseason concussion to Carson Wentz in the following year ending the playoff run for Pederson in Philadelphia that won’t ever be forgotten.

After his 2020 Eagles’ collapsed in the wake of lofty expectations, Pederson was the fall guy. Many believe that he was dismissed in more of a power struggle due to the front office’s influence over his coaching staff. Still, nonetheless, he offered championship expertise on the coaching market. Pederson elected to take a year off to regroup while still getting paid by the Eagles didn’t hurt, but he re-entered the coaching circuit leading into the 2022 season and landed with Jacksonville. 

Doug Pederson was handed a franchise quarterback in Trevor Lawrence despite leading a team in distress after the tumultuous tenure of Urban Meyer a year prior. The five-game winning streak that led to the playoff berth came from a 2-6 brutal start that the Jaguars’ of past years have been accustomed to. Pederson’s player-oriented coaching style paid off as the Jags now look on their way to years at the top of the AFC North with one of the most promising young quarterbacks in football.