Raiders coaching search: A case for Doug Pederson

Doug Pederson has been a potential coaching candidate for the Las Vegas Raiders since Jon Gruden left the team in October.

However, with a potential search hitting full tilt soon, the idea of Pederson being a serious candidate to be the next full-time head coach of the Silver and Black may make a lot of sense. Let’s look at some reasons why Pederson could be attractive to Raiders’ owner Mark Davis:

He’s a winner:

Pederson led the Philadelphia Eagles to their only Super Bowl win in 2018. It was his second season as an NFL head coach. Pederson was surprisingly fired after the 2020 season. He led the Eagles to a 42-37-1 record in five seasons. A lot of people around the NFL thinks Pederson, 53, got a raw deal in Philadelphia. His reputation is still strong.

He’s an offensive mind:

Pederson was a backup NFL quarterback for 11 years and he was an NFL assistant coach for seven years before becoming a head coach. He is known as a creative offensive coach. The Raiders usually hire offensive-minded coaches and he would be a natural fit for the offense.

Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images

He’s a player’s coach:

Pederson has a reputation for getting along well with his players. I could see the Pederson-Derek Carr relationship working pretty well.

He’d be easy to hire:

Pederson took this year off after unexpectedly losing his job. He has spent this season preparing for his next opportunity. There are no complications to hiring Pederson. He will be ready to start right away.