Doug Pederson Says He Plans to Make Jaguars 'A Winning Organization'

The Jacksonville Jaguars introduced new head coach Doug Pederson at a press conference Saturday.

Pederson didn't waste any time before making his ambitions clear:

"The pieces are here—and that's what drew me here," he added.

Pederson, 54, spent a number of years in the NFL as a quarterback, largely as a backup, before transitioning to coaching. He served as an offensive quality control coach for the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2009 and 2010 seasons for the Eagles and was promoted to quarterbacks coach for the 2011 and 2012 campaigns. 

He then followed Andy Reid to the Kansas City Chiefs, serving as the offensive coordinator from 2013 to 2015. 

He returned to Philadelphia as the head coach in 2016, going 42-37-1 in five seasons. He led the Eagles to three postseason appearances and a title in the 2017 campaign. 

Pederson replaces Urban Meyer, who was fired 13 games into his first season in Jacksonville. He inherits a Jaguars team that has promising rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence and the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NFL draft.

Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell took over as interim head coach after Meyer's firing. Jacksonville went 1-3 under Bevell to finish the 2021 season with a 3-14 record.

The Jaguars went 2-11 with Meyer at the helm amid a tumultuous tenure. After choosing not to fly back to Jacksonville with the team after its Week 4 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Meyer was seen on video in an Ohio bar with a woman who is not his wife dancing near his lap.

NFL.com's Tom Pelissero reported on Dec. 11 that tensions between Meyer and the Jaguars players had "boiled over." Pelissero cited an argument between Meyer and team captain Marvin Jones Jr. in which the veteran receiver angrily left the team facility. Pelissero also added that Meyer referred to his assistant coaches as "losers" during a staff meeting.

On Dec. 15, former Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo told Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times details of an incident in which Meyer allegedly kicked him while he was warming up during a preseason practice.

After his firing, Meyer told Ian Rapoport of NFL.com that details of those incidents were inaccurate.