Will Doug Pederson be fired? Jaguars coach criticized after mid-season collapse and early season problems

Doug Pederson has gone from being the head coach who turned the Jaguars around to possibly being the last coach to be fired in Jacksonville. The former Super Bowl winner in Philadelphia must get Jacksonville back on track with franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence or face unemployment as early as 2025.

Pederson, 56, has an 18-18 record in three-plus seasons with the Jaguars heading into a tough Monday night game in Buffalo in Week 3 of the year in 2024. The Jaguars started 0-2 after finishing 1-5 at the end of last season and are 1-7 overall in their last eight games.

The Jaguars improved to 9-8 during Pederson's first season in Jacksonville and won the weak AFC South in 2022. They could match that record in 2023, but ultimately slacked off, finishing behind the division champion Texans (10-7).

There were higher expectations than simply finishing one game above .500 this year, and now the pressure is on to win even more as Lawrence gets his lucrative contract extension in the offseason.

Here's how hot the Pederson position is in Jacksonville right now and whether there are any signs that owner Shad Khan will have to find his sixth full-time head coach since taking over as team owner in 2012.

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Doug Pederson's coaching record

Pederson has a .500 record in his first 36 games for the Jaguars, which is also his mark (1-1) in the playoffs after defeating the Chargers following the 2022 season before falling to the eventual Super Bowl champion Chiefs in the divisional round.

With the Eagles, Pederson went 42-37-1 (.531) in five regular seasons and was 4-2 in the playoffs, including a winning run to Super Bowl 52, after going 13-3 in 2017.

That his tenure ended so soon before he took office is troubling, as he brought a ring to Philadelphia, but his immediate success in Jacksonville created a belief that he was capable of better results than had been the case thus far.

Doug Pederson's contract

When Pederson was hired in 2022, he received a multi-year contract that runs beyond 2024. If the Jaguars release him, they would be willing to pay out the remainder of the contract, which is reportedly worth $8.5 million per season.

Will the Jaguars fire Doug Pederson?

The Eagles initially enjoyed a great honeymoon period with Pederson before his schematic deficiencies and tricky personnel decisions, such as Carson Wentz vs. Jalen Hurts at quarterback, led the organization to tarnish his chances of returning to the Super Bowl. The Eagles felt somewhat vindicated when Pederson's replacement, Nick Sirianni, led them to another Super Bowl after the 2022 season.

The Jaguars haven't been the best offensive adjustment team, with Lawrence struggling and some key injuries out. They've had trouble matching so many talented players on their defense. Pederson has already made a big change at coordinator, replacing Mike Caldwell with Ryan Nielsen last season.

On offense, Pederson was questioned for holding on to coordinator Press Taylor for too long given Lawrence's struggles. Taylor is still with the team, but passing game coordinator Nick Holz left the Jaguars in 2024 for the AFC South rival Titans.

Pederson was the right coach for the Jaguars in 2022 as he helped clean up the terrible mess left by Urban Meyer and his team. He benefited from a strong offseason by GM Trent Baalke, which translated into Lawrence's strengthening.

But now the increased expectations have met with a certain stagnation. Pederson's fate, fairly or not, depends on Lawrence turning things around and getting the Jaguars back into the AFC playoffs, as he is an offensive-minded coach.

The Jaguars lost to the Dolphins and Browns, two playoff teams from last year. The Bills are stronger. After those games, they have two big divisional contests against the Texans (away) and the Colts (at home).

With Houston picking up where it left off last season and the new AFC teams playing well, Jacksonville can't afford to fall any deeper into the hole with Pederson. Khan is more panicky than patient when it comes to his head coaches, and so he believes Pederson is in such a tough spot that major improvements are needed by midseason, a year after his Jaguars began this collapse.