By Zach Gershman, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
On Jan. 18, 2016, the Philadelphia Eagles announced the hiring of a Super Bowl champion, journeyman quarterback and former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator, Doug Pederson. Pederson quarterbacked six different teams during his 12 year NFL career including a one-year stint with the Eagles in 1999.
"Doug is a strategic thinker, a compelling leader and communicator, and someone who truly knows how to get the best out of his players," owner Jeffrey Lurie said upon hiring Pederson. "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 learned how to coach in the National Football League under former Eagles head coach, Andy Reid. A few years after Pederson retired from playing in the NFL, Reid brought him in to be the offensive quality control coordinator for the Eagles.
Following the 2010 season, Pederson was promoted to quarterbacks coach, replacing James Urban, who was promoted to assistant offensive coordinator. Pederson was the quarterback coach while Michael Vick was under center for the Birds. When Reid and the Eagles parted ways in 2013, Pederson followed Reid to serve as offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs.
In KC, Pederson was able to revamp the career of Alex Smith, an injury prone quarterback, traded to the Chiefs by the San Francisco 49ers. Pederson and Smith took the Chiefs to the playoffs in two of the last three seasons. Following the Chiefs loss to the Patriots in the playoffs, rumors swirled that Pederson would be a candidate for the vacant head coaching job. Two days after the Chiefs season ended, Pederson landed in Philadelphia.
Fans and football experts questioned whether Pederson would be able to succeed as a head coach. Although many doubted him, Pederson’s decision-making ability would ultimately be felt when he hired Frank Reich as his offensive coordinator and a former head coach in Jim Schwartz as his defensive coordinator. Along with Howie Roseman, Pederson also agreed to trade with the Cleveland Browns, and helped select Carson Wentz with the second overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. As we have seen so far this season, all of the moves have paid off.
The Eagles are 3-0 heading into this bye week and the team has already received many accolades. Wentz has won NFC Offensive Rookie of the Month and Fletcher Cox has won NFC Defensive Player of the Month for September.
Much of the success could be attributed to Pederson’s personality and, to this point, make Pederson a justifiable leading candidate for Coach of the Year.
