The Jacksonville Jaguars have found their next head coach.
After an extensive search that took more than 30 days to complete, the team has hired former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson, they announced late Thursday night.
Pederson will be the ninth head coach in Jaguars history, which dates back to the franchise's expansion season of 1995. The Jaguars' last head-coaching hire, Urban Meyer, ended up being an embarrassment, with the legendary college football coach getting fired on Dec. 16 after just 13 games at the helm.
Pederson, however, brings NFL success to his second tenure as head coach. Pederson was the Eagles' head coach when the team won Super Bowl LII against the New England Patriots. In five seasons as Eagles head coach, Pederson compiled a regular-season record of 42-37-1, and the Eagles made the playoffs in three of those seasons.
"Doug Pederson four years ago won a Super Bowl as head coach of a franchise in pursuit of its first world championship. I hope Doug can replicate that magic here in Jacksonville, but what is certain is his proven leadership and experience as a winning head coach in the National Football League. It's exactly what our players deserve. Nothing less," Jaguars owner Shad Khan said in a statement.
"Combine this with his acumen on the offensive side of the ball, and you have why I am proud to name Doug Pederson the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. I know our fans will warmly welcome Doug and his family to Duval and I personally look forward to having Doug as part of everything we envision for the team, downtown and community in the years ahead."
Pederson played 10 seasons in the NFL, mostly as a backup quarterback, most notably behind Brett Favre with the Green Bay Packers.
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The Pederson development comes after Byron Leftwich removed himself from consideration for the Jaguars post. Leftwich was interviewed twice by the Jaguars, but made it known that he couldn't work with general manager Trent Baalke, two people with knowledge of the situation told the USA TODAY Network. The people spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.
Contributing: John Reid, Florida Times-Union
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