Doug Pederson Officially Named Eagles Coach

Doug Pederson. (USA Today Sports)

The Eagles officially announced Doug Pederson as the team’s new head coach on Monday. Les Bowen of the Daily News first reported the expected hiring on Thursday, while Birds 24/7’s Tim McManus confirmed it soon thereafter.

Philadelphia couldn’t make it official until Kansas City was eliminated from the playoffs, which happened on Saturday as the Chiefs lost to the Patriots. The Eagles will introduce Pederson as the team’s head coach Tuesday at 2 p.m. at the NovaCare Complex.

“We are excited to introduce Doug Pederson as our new head coach,” Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said. “Doug is a strategic thinker, a compelling leader and communicator, and someone who truly knows how to get the best out of his players. All of these factors were what initially attracted us to Doug and we believe that he is the right man to help us achieve our ultimate goal.”

Pederson, who played for the Eagles in 1999, followed Andy Reid from Philadelphia to Kansas City in 2013. The Eagles’ former quarterbacks coach has been the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator for the last three seasons.

Now that the head coach has been announced, Philadelphia will officially add to his staff. Ken Flajole reportedly accepted a job with the Eagles on Thursday, but his position is unknown. Flajole’s most recent NFL job was in Cleveland as the inside linebackers coach.

Alex Marvez of FOX Sports said Cory Undlin will remain as the Eagles’ secondary coach, while Tim Hauck will assist Undlin. Hauck was a safety with the Eagles from 1999 to 2001.

Marcus Hayes of the Daily News reported that Pederson would like Frank Reich as offensive coordinator, and Steve Spagnuolo as defensive coordinator. Spagnuolo coached from 1999 to 2006 in Philadelphia, while Reich was the Chargers’ offensive coordinator for the last two seasons.

However, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted that Spagnuolo will remain with the Giants, while Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports said Reich “is a very strong candidate” in Philadelphia. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport added that the Eagles plan to name Reich as offensive coordinator.

Soon after the Pederson news leaked last week, Sports Illustrated’s Don Banks tweeted that the Eagles are interested in Jim Schwartz for defensive coordinator. Schwartz, who was the Lions’ head coach from 2009 to 2013, was the Bills’ defensive coordinator in 2014.

97.5 The Fanatic’s Anthony Gargano also reported last week that Brad Childress will “likely” be the Eagles’ offensive coordinator. Childress is currently Kansas City’s Spread Game Analyst/Special Projects Coach. Although Bowen relayed a different favorite for offensive coordinator, he said the “door still [is] not closed” on Childress or Pat Shurmur being on Pederson’s offensive staff.

When Reid was asked on Sunday whether he thought Pederson would take some of the Chiefs coaches with him to Philadelphia, he sounded dubious.

“I don’t think so,” Reid said. “Starting back with Mike Holmgren, and Mike Holmgren with Bill Walsh, you always kind of check with the head coach on those things. Normally, what you want to do is start and take your own guys and go build a program. That’s kind of how you roll. It was a little different in my situation coming here because we were all released. If the staff is intact, normally you talk with the head coach, and we’ll do all that, but I don’t foresee that. I don’t foresee a lot of guys leaving to do that.”

Doug Pederson's Football Experience