NY Jets: Let’s not jump the gun on the Doug Pederson connection

The NY Jets might consider Doug Pederson, but that doesn’t make him the favorite.

The NY Jets have long been considered a potential landing spot for Doug Pederson if the oft-criticized head coach were to be fired by the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason.

And on Monday, team owner Jeffrey Lurie made the somewhat surprising decision to move on from Pederson after five years with the organization.

The initial indication was that the Eagles would retain Pederson despite a 4-11-1 record that saw the team finish dead last in a woeful NFC East. However, plans changed after multiple meetings following the conclusion of the 2020 season.

Given his ties to Jets general manager Joe Douglas, it seemed inevitable that the Pederson rumors would heat up as soon as he was fired. And that’s exactly what happened.

Almost instantly, Pederson became associated with the Jets’ head coach vacancy with some even declaring him the favorite. But it’s important not to become a victim of the moment.

Sure, there is legitimacy to the Pederson/Jets rumors. Douglas worked as the Eagles vice president of player personnel from 2016 to 2019, during which Pederson was the organization’s head coach.

The two have plenty of history together and worked side by side to eventually craft a Super Bowl-winning roster. Relationships are important in the NFL, but so too is sticking to your guns.

The NY Jets’ reported interest in Doug Pederson has been overblown

Douglas planned for this to be a lengthy hiring process and intended on bringing in his fair share of head coaching candidates. At the time of writing, nine candidates have been interviewed for the position and it’s very possible others have as well but haven’t been reported.

It would be rather foolish for Douglas to cast that figurative wide net only to balk at the other candidates in favor of Pederson. Especially given Pederson’s lack of success and reports of locker room drama surrounding his exit in Philadelphia.

Doug Pederson is not Adam Gase, as much as many Jets fans might want to make him out to be. But that doesn’t make him a wise hire either, and there are similarities between the two retread coaches.

Fortunately, there appears to be a growing consensus that Pederson might not be as much of a favorite for the Jets’ job as some initially believed.

The likes of Bleacher Report’s Connor Rogers, ESPN’s Rich Cimini, the New York Post’s Brian Costello, and NFL Network’s Mike Garafalo have all indicated that the reported interest might be a little overblown.

Pederson seems like more of a Plan B or C than a true Plan A.

That’s good news for a Jets team that could likely do a lot better than Pederson this offseason. Despite his prior success, the last couple of years have been rather challenging for the 52-year-old coach and he certainly didn’t make many friends on his way out.

It’s best not to overreact to the news of Pederson’s firing. He’s far from a lock for the Jets’ job.