
The Jacksonville Jaguars finally settled upon a new head coach by hiring Doug Pederson.
The news dropped late Thursday night and finally allows fans in Jacksonville to rest easy knowing they have an experienced NFL head coach in place.
This is much different than the last hire.
Doug Pederson and the #Jaguars have now agreed in principle, source said. He’s their new coach. https://t.co/YKmc7DeNb7
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 4, 2022
Pederson won a Super Bowl in Philadelphia with Nick Foles as his quarterback and shows up in Florida trying to turn Trevor Lawrence into a star.
It could potentially be the perfect match to get the franchise back to relevance.
The entire NFL world offered up reactions as the Jaguars finally did something right for once.
Doug Pederson will need 3 wins to move into 5th place on the Jaguars all-time wins list, replacing current 5th place HC Urban Meyer.
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) February 4, 2022
NFL World Reacts To Doug Pederson Hire
Pederson is both the safe and arguably best choice the franchise could have gone with.
That is even more true when considering other candidates did not want to work with GM Trent Baalke.
Doug Pederson lost his fantasy league and his punishment is to be the next Jaguars head coach.
— lindsey ok (@lindseyyok) February 4, 2022
The Jaguars have won 15 games since 2017.
Doug Pederson won 16 games in 2017.— Reuben Frank (@RoobNBCS) February 4, 2022
The situation may have been too much for someone like Byron Leftwich, who would have been in his first head coaching role.
Pederson has experience with drama from his time with the Eagles and should be able to navigate anything he faces with the Jaguars.
The #Jaguars *needed* a head coach with a proven ability of maximizing a young QB. Doug Pederson worked wonders for Carson Wentz.
Carson Wentz Year 1: 62.4 Comp%, 3,782 yards with 16 TD and 14 INT
Carson Wentz Year 2: 60.2 Comp%, 3,296 yards with 33 TD, 7 INT in 13 games pic.twitter.com/jMOZmYhFI4
— Matt Lombardo (@MattLombardoNFL) February 4, 2022
Doug Pederson will have some tools for the #Jaguars
1. Top draft pick
2. Trevor Lawrence
3. Cap Room pic.twitter.com/KMeswXo2l8— NFL Rumors (@nflrums) February 4, 2022
This is a team that was in the AFC Championship Game as recently as 2017.
Four miserable seasons have followed, while 2021 was all about the Urban Meyer saga on a daily basis.
Owner Shad Khan made a wise decision and that may take some of the heat off of him from fans.
Yet that may all depend on how everything goes with Pederson.
For now, the move is all hype until actual games are played.
Doug Pederson bringing this ice cream energy to Jaguars practice pic.twitter.com/f2ivQc8Qia
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) February 4, 2022
How the head coach navigates the tricky situation with his GM from the start may define his entire tenure and how long it lasts.