The Philadelphia Eagles made a surprising move when they fired head coach Doug Pederson just three years after he led the team to a Super Bowl title. While the Eagles had a disappointing four-win season in 2020, the decision to fire Pederson may have had more to do with his vision for Carson Wentz than the team’s on-field performance.
Pederson benched Wentz in Week 13 after a horrendous stretch of play from the former first-round pick. Jalen Hurts took over at that point, but he didn’t do much to prove he is ready to be a full-time NFL starter. Despite that, Pederson apparently still envisioned Hurts as the team’s starter next season.
FOX analyst Troy Aikman discussed Pederson’s firing during an appearance on “The Michael Irvin Podcast” this week. The Hall of Famer said he spoke with Pederson and gathered that “a difference of opinion in how they were going to move forward with the quarterback position” played a role in the divorce.
“Jeffrey Lurie has paid a lot of money to Carson Wentz, and they’re on the hook with him, and can’t get out of that contract right away,” Aikman said, via Paul Domowitch of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “It’s my belief that Doug Pederson felt that Jalen Hurts probably (should be) the quarterback going forward. But how does that mesh (with Wentz’s contract situation)? I believe it all came down to how they’re going to handle Carson Wentz.”
There have been reports that Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie was the only one in the organization who wanted to fire Pederson. That would make sense considering he is the one who is on the hook for the $107 million in guaranteed money the team gave Wentz prior to the 2019 season.
It looked like Wentz wanted out of Philly fairly recently, but Pederson’s firing may have changed that. The chances of Wentz remaining with the Eagles look a lot higher now.
