The NFL coaching carousel has moved quickly over the last few days, with the Philadelphia Eagles holding the only clear opening at one point Thursday afternoon. That has now changed though, with news the Eagles are set to make Doug Pederson their new head coach.
Pederson is currently serving as offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, so his hiring can’t be made official until they are eliminated from the playoffs. This is Pederson’s third season as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator, and he followed Andy Reid to Kansas City from Philadelphia after being on the staff of the former Eagles’ head coach from 2009-12.
Pederson was a backup quarterback in the NFL for 12 seasons (1993-2004), including two separate stints with the Green Bay Packers. He spent the 1999 season with the Eagles, making nine of his 17 career starts before a rookie named Donovan McNabb took over.
The Eagles have not made a splashy hire with Pederson, but outside of coming into the job with an offensive acumen, he stands out as a direct opposite of predecessor Chip Kelly. Familiarity may have been enough for owner Jeffrey Lurie, and if he wanted to try to tap back into the success the Eagles had under Reid, hiring Pederson fits that desire.
