With the Philadelphia Eagles’ short-term infatuation with Tom Coughlin over, there is only one logical choice for the head coaching job in current offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur. Even with Coughlin in the picture until he withdrew his name as a candidate on Thursday morning, the pros of Shurmur’s relationship with quarterback Sam Bradford outweigh the cons of Coughlin’s age (69).

If the Eagles do not quickly move on Shurmur now, they are doing themselves a big disservice. That’s because quarterback play in the NFL is the only path to success and an entire program can be built around a good one. While Bradford had what can best be described as an uneven start, his finish proved that he is a guy who can lead the Eagles to wins. Shurmur, who was Bradford’s first OC in St. Louis, worked closely with the QB in the same capacity this season.

In fact, with Shurmur coaching and Bradford playing against the New York Giants and Coughlin, Shurmur won, 35-30, and that should tell owner Jeffrey Lurie all he needs to know about Shurmur. The Eagles had nothing to play for in the final week of the season after Chip Kelly got fired, yet somehow, Shurmur was able to rally them to a win. That alone should tell Lurie that Shurmur had more command of the locker room than Kelly ever did.

The alternative, Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson, is a complete crap shoot. Unlike Shurmur, who was a head coach with the Cleveland Browns, Pederson never ran a football team. Unlike Shurmur, Pederson never even called plays as head coach Andy Reid handles that responsibility.

Failing as a head coach with the Browns is not a vice, as former Browns’ failure Bill Belichick has proven. The Eagles might not have the same kind of success with Shurmur, but the idea has merit.