Jacksonville Jaguars hire Doug Pederson as next head coach

Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Doug Pederson, who led the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl championship during the 2017-18 season, was hired as the next head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

ESPN, NFL Media and CBS Sports reported the tentative agreement between Pederson and the Jaguars on Thursday night. The team later confirmed the hiring of Pederson.

The hire ends a coaching search that started 49 days after the franchise fired Urban Meyer and 35 days after Pederson first interviewed with the Jags.

Pederson posted a 42-31-1 record and made three playoff appearances over five seasons in Philadelphia (2016-20). The Eagles selected quarterback Carson Wentz with the No. 2 overall pick and went 7-9 in Pederson's first year, but the team reversed course and had a 13-3 mark in 2017.

The Eagles overcame the loss of Wentz late in that 2017 campaign and beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII behind the arm of backup signal-caller Nick Foles.

Pederson guided the Eagles to two additional postseason appearances in 2018 and 2019. Philadelphia finished with a 4-11-1 record in 2020, leading to the firing of Pederson after the season.

The 54-year-old Pederson spent the 2021 season out of football, but he was the first candidate that Jacksonville interviewed for its head-coaching vacancy, according to ESPN. That initial interview took place Dec. 30, and the Jaguars conducted a second interview with him Tuesday.

The Jaguars interviewed nine others for their coaching job: Jaguars interim head coach Darrell Bevell; Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistants Byron Leftwich and Todd Bowles; Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett; Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus; former Colts head coach Jim Caldwell; Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore; former Las Vegas Raiders interim coach Rich Bisaccia and University of Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien.

The Denver Broncos hired Hackett and the Chicago Bears grabbed Eberflus, both of whom also got second interviews with the Jaguars -- as did Leftwich.

Pederson replaces first-year coach Meyer, who was fired with cause Dec. 16. The Jaguars parted ways with Meyer after a 2-11 record and a string of embarrassing missteps, including viral videos of him behaving inappropriately at a bar with a woman who wasn't his wife and reports of him berating his assistant coaches.

The Jaguars have had just one winning season since 2007 and have lost 10 or more games in 10 of the last 11 years. Jacksonville finished 3-14 this past season and has the top pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.