Philadelphia Eagles to hire Doug Pederson as next head coach
Friday 15 January 2016 08:21, UK
Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson has accepted the Philadelphia Eagles' offer to become their next head coach, according to the Associated Press.
The appointment cannot officially be announced until the Chiefs - who play the New England Patriots in an AFC Divisional play-off game on Saturday - are knocked out of post-season play.
The Eagles have been searching for a new head coach since Chip Kelly was fired with one regular-season game remaining.
Pederson has spent seven seasons coaching in the NFL. He was with the Eagles for four years, before spending the past three seasons with the Chiefs.
The 47-year-old was the fifth candidate to interview for the Eagles job. He met with the team in Kansas City last Sunday morning after the Chiefs beat Houston 30-0 to advance to the second round.
Philadelphia also interviewed Adam Gase, who was hired by Miami; Ben McAdoo, who was hired by the New York Giants; former Giants head coach Tom Coughlin; and two of the Eagles' assistant coaches during the 2015 season under Chip Kelly: Pat Shurmur and Duce Staley.
Pederson played 10 NFL seasons almost exclusively as a back-up quarterback with Miami, Green Bay, Philadelphia and Cleveland. He made nine starts for Philly in 1999, going 2-7. The following year with Cleveland, he went 1-7 as a starter.
Pederson's likely appointment caps a busy day in the NFL after Kelly was earlier announced as the new head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and Ben McAdoo unveiled in the same post at the New York Giants.
Also on Thursday, media reports said that Dirk Koetter had been promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
He replaces Lovie Smith, who was fired last week.
You can watch the Kansas City Chiefs take on the New England Patriots live on Sky Sports 2 HD on Saturday, with coverage from 9.30pm.
