Doug Pederson coached the Philadelphia Eagles for five season, during which he led the team to three postseason appearances and the franchise’s first ever Super Bowl title. He also has two NFC East titles under his belt, and the team was riding a three-season playoff streak heading into 2020.
So why on earth would the Eagles fire him after just one dismal season–when there were plenty of other factors which also contributed to the Eagles’ demise, like an atrocious defense, terrible quarterback play, injuries, and a lack of playmakers on offense?
Most people believed that Pederson’s dismissal was largely tied to his questionable decision to bench then-stater Jalen Hurts in favor of Nate Sudfeld during a very winnable week 17 contest against Washington.
Well, it turns out that the coaching change had less to do with Hurts, and more to do with the Eagles’ OTHER quarterback, Carson Wentz.
According to a recent report from The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane, Wentz’s attitude can be characterized as ‘uncoachable’:
Wentz’s Type-A personality could be credited just as much for his past success. Many top quarterbacks share the same trait. But the 28-year-old had increasingly rebuffed advice, defied criticism, and clashed with former coach Doug Pederson last season, Eagles sources said. “Every great quarterback wants to be coached and they want to be coached hard and by the best, and it doesn’t seem like [Wentz] wants that,” one source said. “It’s kind of like whoever’s coaching him is working for him. But it can’t be that way.”
If you thought that was bad, it gets worse:
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In the quarterback room, when his errors were pointed out, Wentz would sometimes make irrelevant excuses and Taylor wouldn’t correct him. For instance, there would be a play when he didn’t throw to an open receiver. The read was drawn up as designed, the coverage played out as expected, and he would be asked why he didn’t pull the trigger. And Wentz would say the look wasn’t there, or he would overemphasize the pass rush, and when it was suggested the play be run again in practice as to get it right, he would object.
McLane goes on to blame Wentz for Pederson’s firing, claiming owner Jeffrey Lurie was already wondering whether the two men could still work together, but when Pederson suggested promoting quarterbacks coach Press Taylor to offensive coordinator, it was the final nail in his coffin:
When Pederson suggested to Lurie after the season that he planned to promote Taylor to offensive coordinator, it was a fait accompli. The owner was already questioning whether the coach could still be paired with Wentz. But there was no way he would allow all three to return.
Wentz alone also factored into Pederson’s exit, despite Lurie’s claim otherwise. The Eagles essentially remained “married” to the quarterback, as Roseman had put it at the time of the Hurts pick, but not because of his play this time, but because of his expanding contract.
McLane also notes that GM Howie Roseman is a big Carson Wentz fan (he had a life-size poster of the former second-overall pick in his office), and that both Roseman and Lurie had given Wentz too much credit for the Super Bowl that Nick Foles won them. He claims that Wentz has been given too much say into personnel and organizational decisions, without really earning it.
You can read the whole article here. This should only make things that much more interesting as the Eagles head into the offseason with plenty of uncertainty ahead of them.
