With four weeks remaining in the 2020 NFL season, Doug Pederson is firmly on the hot seat in Philadelphia. That's according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, who reported on "SportsCenter" Saturday that the fourth-year head coach is under fire internally -- primarily as a result of franchise quarterback Carson Wentz's stark regression this season.
"The seat is definitely hot, and it's getting warmer," Fowler said. "This is a guy with three straight playoff appearances and a Super Bowl, but it is the regression of the quarterback, Carson Wentz, who they're tied to ... Whether it's Wentz, Jalen Hurts or even a top-five draft pick at quarterback next year, the question the Eagles are openly asking themselves right now is, 'Do we need a new offensive mind to mold those young players?'"
Fowler's report echoes previous reports from ESPN regarding the state of the Eagles, which have suggested Pederson is more likely to be a victim of organizational changes this offseason than general manager Howie Roseman, a longtime confidant of owner Jeffrey Lurie. There's a case to be made that Roseman deserves the most blame for Philly's 2020 ineptitude, and Wentz has not done himself any favors on the way to the bench, but Pederson has posted easily the worst performance of his career, too.
Since guiding the Eagles to their first-ever Super Bowl title in 2017, the coach has gone 21-22-1, including playoffs, and seen his team's record decline in three straight seasons. Perhaps even more concerning is the fact Philly's offense -- Pederson's supposed specialty -- has cratered during the coach's fifth season, with Wentz ranking among the league's worst starting QBs and the entire unit placing among the least effective units in the NFL.
Lurie, meanwhile, has long made it clear that he prefers a trend-setting offensive mind atop the staff, and there could be a handful of other offensively geared candidates on the market this offseason. Whether or not he actually explores those options could depend on how Pederson's offense looks with Hurts, the team's second-round draft pick, temporarily taking over for Wentz.
