On Monday, the Philadelphia Eagles made one of the smartest moves in franchise history. Just after 2 PM, news broke that Doug Pederson had been fired. This shouldn’t be surprising to anyone, especially Eagles fan. The only good thing about Doug Pederson was that he brought the Eagles their first championship. Other than that, there’s nothing special about Doug. He’s just another coach that won one Super Bowl and let that get to his head. Let’s review the Pederson era of the Philadelphia Eagles.

The beginning

We are so doomed. https://t.co/KuHfZzgJT9

— Andrew Porter (@And_Porter) January 3, 2016

Pederson was brought in to replace Chip Kelly, who was just a giant failure from the start. The Eagles had suffered enough under the misleadership of Chip Kelly and thought Pederson would do a better job. In his first season has head coach, the Eagles went 7-9 finishing in last place in the division and missed the playoffs. The season was off to a hot 3-0 start, but then lost two straight by a combined eight points. They couldn’t finish out the games. Every coach should have a plan for close game scenarios, Pederson did not his first year as the head coach. It was a common theme for their losses during the season.

The Super Bowl season

"We all look forward to the day he will be inducted to the Eagles Hall of Fame as a Super Bowl-winning head coach."#Eagles owner/CEO Jeffrey Lurie on Doug Pederson. pic.twitter.com/RQ9HADDfjI

— Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrCBS) January 11, 2021

Yes, believe it or not, the Super Bowl season was Pederson’s second year as head coach. Quarterback Carson Wentz was on track to be the MVP until he took a devastating hit to the knee that resulted in a torn ACL late into the season. Pederson trusted Nick Foles to lead the team to the Super Bowl and that’s exactly what happened. Pederson deserves credit for trusting Foles, but that’s it.

The real reason why Philadelphia went 13-3 that year was not because of Doug Pederson. Offensive coordinator Frank Reich and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz deserve the most credit for the Super Bowl season. They were the ones putting together the plays, and the ones who coached their players the most.

Reality after the miracle season

So, the Eagles are Super Bowl champions, and man did the fans let everyone know. In fact, to this day, some of them are still quick to remind everyone that a backup beat Brady. Congrats on living in the past, just like your head coach. Yes, its 2021 but Doug Pederson never left the 2017-2018 season. The NFL figured out the Eagles for the most part.

The Eagles made a trip back to the playoffs this time as a wildcard team the following season. The season ended in New Orleans following a drop by Alshon Jeffrey. That following season after the Jeffrey drop, Philadelphia won the division at 9-7. They lost in the wildcard round against Seattle following a dirty hit against Wentz that took him out. This would be the last time Pederson makes it to the playoffs. Nothing special happened in either of these seasons. A theme of Doug Pederson’s career (except for the Super Bowl the coordinators worked harder for than him).

Pederson’s last season

Eagles' offensive rank under Doug Pederson (EPA per play):

2016: 19th
2017: 5th 🏆
2018: 13th
2019: 16th
2020: 29th pic.twitter.com/ajkXSBjjDi

— PFF (@PFF) January 11, 2021

Pederson really went all out his last season. The Eagles dominated everyone to earn a 4-11-1 record. Yes, that’s sarcasm, until the last game of the year. Yes, the NFC East was an abomination, but the Eagles finished in last place in that abomination. When it looked like Philly had a chance to take complete control of the division, the Eagles folded.

Pederson also caused a quarterback controversy. Pederson benched Wentz for the rookie Jalen Hurts. Hurts for the most part had a solid season. Wentz did not like this move and his relationship with Pederson was ruined. To this day, it still appears Wentz wants out of Philadelphia. However, Pederson’s last act will never be forgotten by anyone.

The last act

Breaking: Doug Pederson has been fired as the Eagles' coach, a source tells ESPN’s Dan Graziano. pic.twitter.com/pkBiuBZO4m

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 11, 2021

The final game of the season had some serious implications. If Washington beat Philadelphia the Football Team would win the division. If Philadelphia beats Washington, the Giants would win the division. For some reason, Doug Pederson just gave up in the fourth quarter. Yes, he literally gave up and purposely lost. Instead of having Jalen Hurts lead a potential drive down the field to take the lead, he puts in Nate Sudfeld. Why? According to Pederson he wanted Sudfeld to take some “meaningful snaps.” Doug… you don’t do that. I get that you think that you can do what you want because your the head coach, but no Doug. Also, not to mention that he was play calling and doing an awful job of it all season. He cant coach right or even play call right.

Players didn’t understand why the Sudfeld move happened since Sudfeld played horribly. The only reason why Sudfeld was even active was because Pederson made Wentz inactive. He was setting up to lose this game. It seriously felt like senior night of a high school football game with Sudfeld at quarterback. The aftermath of all this is that he lied to the media for his reasoning and you could tell he was making things up. Seriously, anyone who taints the integrity of the game, deserves to no longer coach in the NFL.

What’s next?

Former Eagles’ HC Doug Pederson has a strong relationship with Jets’ GM Joe Douglas, which could put one more HC candidate in play for the NYJ.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 11, 2021

So what’s next for the former coach of Philadelphia? Personally, he shouldn’t be employed. But sadly, he will be. Rumor has it he wants to reunite with Joe Douglas of the New York Jets. This would be such a Jets move to hire a coach like this. Will it happen? Probably not. But he is a target now for many teams.

-Matt Burnett (@mattthew_jordan on Twitter)