Eagles won't bat an eye if Press Taylor leads to Doug Pederson's fallout with Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars hired Doug Pederson because they wanted a proven head coach who could right the ship after the Urban Meyer era. The early results were encouraging but things haven't been so great lately. Eight games into the 2024 season, Doug P finds himself on the hot seat, and if he's dismissed, it might be for the same reason the Philadelphia Eagles moved on from him in 2021.

The Eagles hired Pederson in 2016 and they won the Super Bowl the following year. But despite making the playoffs three consecutive seasons, Philly fired him after the 2020 season because they didn't share the same vision and didn't agree on how to bounce back after going 4-11 that year. Reportedly, Press Taylor was the biggest reason for their disagreement.

Pederson wanted to promote Taylor from quarterback coach to offensive coordinator. Lurie wasn't impressed, though. Surprisingly, he didn't outright fire the head coach but asked him to make tweaks to his plan. He didn't and instead walked on his own terms.

John Kincade of 975 The Fanatic recently appeared on 1010 XL's Helmet and Heels and looked back at Pederson's exit in Philly, citing the decision to hold onto Taylor as the reason he walked away.

"Things just declined after that year. Doug wasn't able to sustain that success," Kincade said on 1010 XL. "There were a lot of different factors, but I think primarily was, the fact is, his assistant coaches were not up to caliber, and Doug was extremely loyal and literally walked up. They didn't want to fire him. He fired himself in Philadelphia."

"He refused to move on from a guy you may know, Press Taylor, who you know. He wouldn't move on from him, and because of that fact, Jeffrey Lurie had to fire him, and Doug took a year off before coming down to Jacksonville, and his assistant coaches really let him down. I really believe that. I think Doug was meant to be the grand administrator here."

Here's Kincade's comments about Pederson. You can also find the full conversation on YouTube.

Press Taylor has seemingly been the source of friction between the Jaguars and Doug Pederson

One big reason Doug Pederson accepted to become the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars was that he was able to implement his vision, meaning that he faced no opposition when he appointed Press Taylor as the offensive coordinator. So far, he's had mixed results.

Taylor called offensive plays at times in 2022 but earned the responsibility full-time the following year. While the Jags started strong in 2023, they won only one of their last six games to end the season. One big reason was the decline the offense experienced as the year progressed. But despite the regression, Pederson praised his protegee, pointing out that he had room for improvement but overall did a good job. He wasn't wrong.

While it's true that the offense regressed in the second half of 2023, that was partly because the offensive line couldn't block and injuries hampered the team. Having said that, Pederson and Taylor have left much to be desired in 2024.

The offense got off to a slow start this season, failing to reach the 20-point mark until Week 4. The Jags have been more productive in recent games, but the offense is still plagued by mistakes in execution. That falls on Taylor. Nevertheless, Pederson has stood up for his offensive coordinator.

In fact, Pederson raised eyebrows after the Week 4 loss to the Houston Texans when he blamed players, not Taylor, for the offense's lackluster showing. He then tried to kind of walk back the comments, but his support for his protegee seems unnecessarily excessive.

Based on how the season has played out, there's a chance Pederson could get the boot, and nobody will bat an eye if he does. That said, there's a scenario in which he could be asked to stay but needs to get a new coordinator. Based on how things went with the Eagles, he could decide to leave on his own terms for the second time.

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