NFL has 7 head-coaching openings after Eagles part with Doug Pederson

The NFL head-coaching carousel remains in full swing after the Wild Card round of the playoffs.

The Philadelphia Eagles made Doug Pederson the seventh NFL coach fired this season, joining Houston’s Bill O’Brien, Atlanta’s Dan Quinn, Detroit’s Matt Patricia, Adam Gase of the New York Jets, Jacksonville’s Doug Marrone and the Los Angeles Chargers’ Anthony Lynn.

Patricia was fired on Nov. 28, following the Falcons cutting ties with Quinn (Oct. 11) and the Texans moving on from head coach and general manager O’Brien (Oct. 5).

Here is the latest news from the round of firings that began as Week 17 came to a closed last week.

Eagles meet with, part with Doug Pederson – Monday

The Philadelphia Eagles have fired coach Doug Pederson, less than three years after he led them to the franchise’s only Super Bowl title.

Pederson was 42-37-1 in five seasons. He led the Eagles to two division titles and three playoff appearances before going 4-11-1 in 2020.

Pederson met with owner Jeffrey Lurie last week and again Monday.

“We are all very disappointed with the way our season went and eager to turn things around, not just for next season but also for the future of the franchise,” Lurie said in a statement.

“Coach Pederson and I had the opportunity to sit down and discuss what that collective vision would look like moving forward. After taking some time to reflect on these conversations, I believe it is in both of our best interests to part ways.”

Pederson’s loyalty to his coaching staff and frustration with the front office’s interference was a major issue, according to a person familiar with the decision. The person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the conversations, said Pederson and general manager Howie Roseman weren’t on the same page regarding many personnel moves.

Ultimately, Lurie chose Roseman over Pederson.

Chargers fire Anthony Lynn despite strong finish – Jan. 4

The Los Angeles Chargers fired Lynn less than two seasons after he led the franchise to the playoffs.

Los Angeles won its final four games to finish 7-9, but it wasn’t enough to save Lynn’s job.

“I’m not sure there is another person in this league more respected as a human being than Anthony,” owner Dean Spanos said in a statement. “This is a results-driven business, and simply put, the results of the past two years have fallen short of expectations.”

Hired by the Chargers in January 2017, Lynn was the first Black head coach in franchise history. He went 34-32 with Los Angeles, but just 12-20 over the last two seasons. He had one year remaining on his contract.

Los Angeles started 0-4 during Lynn’s first season in 2017, but finished 9-7 after winning six of the last seven games. That served as a springboard to 2018 as the Chargers went 12-4, which tied for the best record in the AFC. They defeated Baltimore in the wild card round before losing to New England in the divisional playoffs.

Jaguars reset by moving on from Doug Marrone – Jan. 4

Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan plans to have the team’s next head coach and general manager report directly to him, a structure he expects will keep him in the loop on major personnel decisions.

Khan said he will have “roster control,” but he later clarified that to mean “you don’t want players going in and out or contracts given until you’re aware of that.”

Khan also made it clear finding a franchise quarterback — hello, Trevor Lawrence — is as important as hiring the right people to those key positions.

“What’s evaded the history of the Jags really has been a franchise quarterback,” Khan said. “I think what’s unique is we have the ability now to make a choice and it’s going to define the franchise moving forward.”

Khan fired coach Doug Marrone a little more than 12 hours after ending the season with a 15th consecutive loss. It was a move many thought he should have made a year earlier. But Khan gave Marrone another chance to make Jacksonville a playoff contender again.

Marrone came up well short of the owner’s expectations, making Khan’s decision easy and expected. It was the first time Marrone has been fired in three decades of coaching.

Marrone went 24-43 in four seasons in Jacksonville, falling a few plays shy of the franchise’s first Super Bowl in 2017 and then miring near the bottom of the league since. The Jaguars dropped 21 of Marrone’s final 24 games, including 15 by double digits.

Jets cut ties with Adam Gase – Jan. 3

Adam Gase came to New York with high hopes he would be the perfect fit to help quarterback Sam Darnold take the next step in his development and boost the Jets’ offense.

And lead the team back to the postseason.

None of that materialized. So, the search is on — again — for a frustrated franchise.

The Jets fired Gase last week, ending a disappointing tenure after just two loss-filled seasons.

“While my sincere intentions are to have stability in our organization — especially in our leadership positions — it is clear the best decision for the Jets is to move in a different direction,” Jets chairman and CEO Christopher Johnson said in a statement issued by the team.

Hired by the Jets in January 2019, Gase went 9-23 with New York, including an 0-13 start that was the worst in franchise history — overshadowing even the 1996 squad that went 0-8 on the way to a 1-15 finish, and is generally recognized as the team’s worst.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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