The Jacksonville Jaguars have found the head coach and he has a Super Bowl win on his resume.
The AFC South team is going to have Doug Pederson as its head coach, it was reported Thursday.
Sources: The #Jaguars are hiring Doug Pederson as their new coach.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 4, 2022
Pederson’s hiring comes after a chaotic season that saw Urban Meyer hired, embarrass himself and the franchise, and then get fired.
There was a buzz former Jaguars first-round pick Byron Leftwich was going to be the head coach. However, he removed himself from consideration.
A week ago, head coaching candidate Byron Leftwich was the #2 selling jersey in Jacksonville.
The team is hiring Doug Pederson, per @AdamSchefter. https://t.co/NXibrZzDUQ
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) February 4, 2022
The Jaguars head coaching search has dragged on for more than 30 days since their first interview with Pederson last month. Leftwich was interviewed twice by the Jaguars, but appears to have fell out of favor when he made it known that he couldn’t work with general manager Trent Baalke, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke to the Florida Times-Union at the Senior Bowl
Pederson was 42-37-1 in five seasons as head coach of the Eagles. They won the Super Bowl after the 2017 season, defeating the New England Patriots.
His fame in that game came from not only the win but the “Philly Special” play that saw quarterback Nick Foles catch a TD pass.
Pederson inherits the 2021 first overall pick in the draft, Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence. He will also have the first pick in the 2022 NFL draft as the Jaguars finished 3-14 last season.