The Jets’ search for a new head coach got an interesting wrinkle on Monday.
The Eagles fired coach Doug Pederson, which led to immediate speculation by fans and media that the Jets might be interested in him. The connection is easy to make. Jets general manager Joe Douglas worked with Pederson in Philadelphia from 2016-19 and the two won a Super Bowl there in 2017.
Douglas has talked a lot about Pederson in public, but there is currently no speculation that Douglas would be interested in appointing Pederson. The Jets completed interviews Monday with the offensive coordinator of Titans, Arthur Smith, and Aaron Glenn, secondary coach of Saints. That brings down to nine well-known candidates who conducted interviews.
The Jets intended to do a wide search and followed. They interviewed candidates with experience on both sides of the ball. They only had one candidate with previous coaching experience – Marvin Lewis.
The belief that the Jets would get the chance to hire Pederson is wrong. This is not to say that he will not be a candidate. They were able to interview him and eventually rent. But it’s not a slam dunk that Pederson will be the next Jets coach, as some make it seem. Just because Douglas and Pederson worked closely together does not mean Douglas wants him as his coach.
There are several reports that Douglas and Pederson have a strong relationship, and Douglas praised Pederson on Adam Schefter’s podcast in 2019.
“Just like Doug handled his first year,” Douglas said. ‘We started 3-0, things look good, we lost some guys, we hit some pitfalls, we finished the season 7-9 and the way he attacked the off-season and how he the team was able to unite with its messages. And the kind of man he is, he’s as genuine and genuine of a person as you’ll ever meet. He’s a guy who says what he means, and means what he says, and players believe in him and they believe in his aggressive attitude, which is why I like how he managed the team. ”
The 52-year-old Pederson is more of a well-known entity than most coaches the Jets have interviewed. He sailed 42-37-1 with the Eagles and 4-2 in the playoffs within five years, including the team’s lone Super Bowl victory after the 2017 season.
The Eagles made it 4-11-1 this season and fullback Carson Wentz had a terrible year. The Eagles’ ownership has apparently been concerned about the direction of Pederson’s offense and future vision, especially with his staff. There was also disagreement between Wentz and Pederson and a belief that the two could no longer coexist. Pederson ended the season with one of the more curious coaching decisions in mind, and Jalen Hurts, the fullback, against Washington, when Nate Sudfeld, the backup, was still in play. It appears that Pederson deliberately tried to lose the game, which made him very angry, including some of his players and many fans of Giants and their coach, Joe Judge.
The Jets may be reluctant to even appoint a coach who has just been fired. They did it with Adam Gase two years ago and the fans’ reaction was extremely negative. The Jets should not get caught up in the perception of this rent, but they may be after the experience of the past two years with how unpopular Gase was.
The opening of the Eagles now means there are seven teams in the NFL with a subject coach for head coaches. It is not known if the Jets are planning any more interviews. It appears they will now regroup and decide whether to add more candidates, including Pederson, or to invite coaches for a second interview. The first round of interviews was conducted remotely. It is believed that the Jets will bring in some finalists for personal interviews in Florham Park, but coaches of teams still living in the playoffs cannot yet conduct personal interviews.