At the end of the 2012 season, the Philadelphia Eagles fired head coach Andy Reid despite a 130-93-1 overall record for the franchise over 14 years. The team finished that 2012 season at 4-12, and owner Jeffrey Lurie wanted to shake up the franchise, ultimately hiring Chip Kelly to take over the team. Four days later, Reid was introduced as the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, adding his Eagles quarterbacks coach Doug Pederson as his offensive coordinator with the Chiefs.
Fast forward to the end of the 2015 season, and it appears the Eagles could be looking to their former head coach's staff to grab their next head coach after firing Kelly. As ESPN's Adam Schefter reported, Pederson is a leading candidate for the Eagles' head coaching position. According to Bleeding Green Nation's James Keane, the Eagles are looking to "recapture the spirit of Andy Reid."
Pederson, prior to moving to coaching, was an NFL and World League of American Football (WLAF, later NFL Europe) quarterback. Pederson was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Miami Dolphins in 1991. He was allocated to the WLAF's New York/New Jersey Knights for the 1992 season before final locking his place on the Dolphins' roster from 1993 to 1995. He again headed to the WLAF in 1995, playing for the Rhein Fire, before a three year stint (1996 to 1998) with the Green Bay Packers. He then played one season for the Eagles in 1999, a year for the Cleveland Browns in 2000, and finished his career back with the Packers from 2001 to 2004.
Pederson is a fringe candidate for most teams this year, but could be a great move for the Eagles. It would also knock a potential competitor for the Dolphins as they look at other coaching candidates around the league. Pederson may be considered a "leading candidate" right now, but that does not mean he is the only candidate, however, and the Eagles, who have also already interviewed former Eagles running back and current running backs coach Duce Staley, could still be looking at other candidates.