Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson guided the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl victory in February 2018 but was later fired by the club in January 2021. Thus, Pederson knows plenty about the job-security rumors hovering over current Philadelphia coach Nick Sirianni this fall.
Ahead of this Sunday's game between the 2-6 Jaguars and 5-2 Eagles at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field, Pederson shared some advice for Sirianni regarding how to handle what is likely to be at least somewhat difficult.
"My advice is you’ve just kind of got to keep going every single day, man," Pederson said while speaking with reporters on Wednesday, per Ariel Simpson of The Philadelphia Inquirer. "You’ve just got to keep your head down, plowing forward, just do your job. Get your team ready to go for another game. And you know, you can’t control anything other than that as a head coach."
Sirianni led Philadelphia to Super Bowl LVII, but his club lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in February 2023. The Eagles began the subsequent season at 10-1 but lost six of their last seven games, including a wild-card playoff showdown at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
This past spring and summer, it was reported that Sirianni would enter September on the hot seat, partly because his relationship with quarterback Jalen Hurts allegedly became "fractured" during the team's collapse last season. The two men seemingly are on the same page heading into November amid Philadelphia's three-game winning streak.
"Just continue to keep doing the job you’re doing," Pederson continued during his comments about Sirianni. "You’ve got to trust your ability. You’ve got to trust what you’re doing, what you’re teaching, how you’re preparing your football team and you’ve got to stick with that. And I think he’s done a good job at that."
Since last winter, former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has repeatedly been mentioned as a potential replacement for Sirianni. It's unclear if Hurts would actively try to save his coach's job this coming offseason, but outsiders believe Sirianni may have to earn at least one postseason victory in January to prevent Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie from reaching out to Belichick.
