Eagles coaching search ends with Doug Pederson hired as head coach

The Kansas City Chiefs lost to the New England Patriots in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs on Saturday. On Monday, they lost their offensive coordinator, as Doug Pederson was officially announced as the next head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. The Eagles were expected to make the move once the Chiefs were no longer in the Playoffs, and that is exactly what happened this weekend.

Pederson began his head coaching career in 2005 as a high school head coach. He was hired by Andy Reid to join the Philadelphia Eagles in 2009 as the offensive quality control coordinator, working his way up to quarterbacks coach in 2011. When Reid was fired by the Eagles after the 2012 season, Pederson moved with him to the Chiefs, taking over the offensive coordinator position, holding the job for three years.

Prior to starting his coaching career, Pederson spent 12 years in the NFL, after one season in the World League of American Football. He started his NFL career with the Miami Dolphins, playing for coach Don Shula from 1993 to 1995, including winning Shula's record 325th career victory after an injury sidelined Scott Mitchell. Pederson then played for the Green Bay Packers from 1996 to 1998, the Eagles in 1999, the Cleveland Browns in 2000, and finished his career back with the Packers in a 2001 to 2004 stint.

Under Reid, Pederson did not call plays for most of his tenure as the offensive coordinator, a duty which Reid kept most of the time. The reins did loosen some this past season, and Pederson was allowed to call plays at times. With Pederson as the offensive coordinator, the Chiefs ranked 6th, 16th, and 9th in scoring offense, along with being 10th, 10th, and 6th in rushing offense. Quarterback Alex Smith was 14th, 13th, and 10th in passer rating over the past three years.