Douglas Irvin Pederson (born January 31, 1968) is an American professional football coach and former quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) who was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 2016 to 2020 and Jacksonville Jaguars from 2022 to 2024. He spent most of his 13-season playing career as a backup to Brett Favre on the Green Bay Packers, where he was a member of the team that won Super Bowl XXXI. Pederson was also a backup to Dan Marino on the Miami Dolphins and a starter for the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns until retiring in 2004.
Pederson began his coaching career under Andy Reid, serving as an assistant for the Eagles from 2009 to 2012. After Reid became the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013, Pederson followed him to serve as the Chiefs' offensive coordinator. Pederson returned to the Eagles as their head coach in 2016, a position he held for five seasons. His most successful season with the Eagles was in 2017 when the team won Super Bowl LII, the franchise's first Super Bowl title. As the head coach of the Jaguars for three seasons, Pederson led them to a division title and playoff victory in 2022.
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Playing career
Early life
Pederson was born in Bellingham, Washington, in 1968. He was raised in nearby Ferndale, Washington, and attended Ferndale High School, and was an All-State selection in football, basketball, and baseball. His quarterback coach at Ferndale was Ray Ramsay. After high school, Pederson graduated from Northeast Louisiana University, where he was quarterback from 1987 through 1990. Pederson still holds multiple passing records at the school.
Professional
Pederson originally signed as a rookie free agent by the Miami Dolphins on May 1, 1991, out of Northeast Louisiana University (now University of Louisiana at Monroe) in Monroe, Louisiana. He was waived on August 17, 1991, before the start of the regular season. After spending the 1991 season as a free agent, the New York/New Jersey Knights of the World League of American Football (WLAF) drafted Pederson in the fifth round for the first pool of draft-eligible players on February 4, 1992. The second pool, which was drafted from on February 20, consisted of players allocated by NFL teams to the league. He was the backup quarterback to Reggie Slack with the Knights from March to May 1992.
After the WLAF season finished, Pederson was re-signed by the Dolphins on June 2, 1992. He spent 1992 training camp with the Dolphins, before being released during final roster cuts again. Pederson was subsequently re-signed to the team's practice squad, where he practiced on the scout team until he was waived on October 8, 1992.
Pederson was re-signed by the Dolphins after the season on March 3, 1993. After his third training camp with the Dolphins, Pederson was waived again on August 31. The next day, he was re-signed to the practice squad. Dan Marino, the Dolphins' starting quarterback since 1983, ruptured his Achilles' tendon against the Cleveland Browns on October 10, 1993, forcing backup Scott Mitchell to replace him. Pederson replaced Marino on the active roster and served as Mitchell's backup for the next four games. Pederson made his NFL debut on October 24 against the Indianapolis Colts. He helped head coach Don Shula win his NFL-record 325th victory as a coach when Mitchell suffered a separated shoulder against the Philadelphia Eagles on November 14. In that record-breaking game for Coach Shula, Pederson entered in the third quarter of the game and went 3 for 6 for 34 yards while converting several crucial third downs. Pederson was able to steer the Dolphins to the win. Pederson also served as the backup to recently acquired Steve DeBerg for the three games Mitchell missed with injury. He briefly entered a week 14 game against the New York Giants while DeBerg was receiving stitches on his face. Mitchell returned as the Dolphins' starter after Week 15, and Pederson was released in favor of backup DeBerg and third-string quarterback Hugh Millen on December 16, 1993.
Pederson re-signed with the Dolphins on April 16, 1994, after the season ended. He spent the entire 1994 season on the Dolphins' active roster as the third-string quarterback behind Marino and Bernie Kosar.
NFL career statistics
Coaching career
Calvary Baptist Academy
After his retirement, Pederson was hired as head coach of Calvary Baptist Academy, a private Christian high school in Shreveport, Louisiana. Calvary was going into its second year as a program when Pederson signed on in March 2005.
Pederson was the head coach at Calvary for four years, and held a 33–7 record in the regular season and an 8–3 record in the post-season. The Cavaliers were in the state playoffs all four years with Pederson as head coach. In his first season in 2005, the Cavaliers went 5–6 and lost in the first round of the state playoffs. In 2007, he led the Cavaliers to the semi-finals and to their first district title.
Philadelphia Eagles (assistant)
On January 29, 2009, Pederson was hired as the offensive quality control coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, reuniting him with his former head coach, Andy Reid. He was promoted to quarterbacks coach on February 8, 2011, replacing James Urban, who was promoted to assistant offensive coordinator.
Kansas City Chiefs
On January 11, 2013, Pederson followed Andy Reid to the Kansas City Chiefs to serve as offensive coordinator. Following a 1–5 start in 2015, Andy Reid gave Pederson play-calling duties. The Chiefs proceeded to win their last 10 games, which made Pederson a head coaching candidate for 2016.
Philadelphia Eagles (head coach)
On January 18, 2016, Pederson was hired as head coach of the Eagles replacing Chip Kelly. Despite having Sam Bradford on the roster as the starting quarterback, the Eagles drafted Carson Wentz with the second overall pick in 2016. Right before the 2016 season began, Bradford was traded to the Minnesota Vikings and Wentz was named the starting quarterback as a rookie. Pederson and Wentz won their first three NFL games together, but finished the season 7–9, missing the playoffs.
Pederson's second season was much more successful as he led the Eagles to a 13–3 record, winning them the NFC East division championship and allotting them home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Wentz, who was having a career year and was considered a front runner for league MVP, tore his ACL in Week 14, leaving backup Nick Foles with the starting job for the remainder of the year. Despite the Eagles becoming major playoff underdogs due to the loss of Wentz, Foles filled in admirably as the starter, allowing Philadelphia to make it to Super Bowl LII, their first Super Bowl appearance since the 2004 season. Foles, the eventual Super Bowl MVP, led the team to a 41–33 win over the New England Patriots, giving them their first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history and their first league championship since 1960.
On May 3, 2018, it was reported that the Philadelphia Eagles picked up Pederson's fifth-year option, allowing him to coach the team through 2020. Later on that summer, it was reported that Pederson signed a contract extension through the 2022 NFL season.
Pederson's third season was not as successful as his previous one. The Eagles struggled with many injuries to their secondary and wide receivers. After starting 4–6 in their first 10 games the Eagles proceeded to win 5 of their last 6 games including upset victories over the Los Angeles Rams and Houston Texans. After winning their last game against the Washington Redskins and the Minnesota Vikings losing to the Chicago Bears, the Eagles made it back to the playoffs with a 9–7 record as the sixth seed. The Eagles went on to upset third-seeded Chicago in a defensive showdown, 16–15. During the final ten seconds of the game, Pederson called a timeout before Bears placekicker Cody Parkey could score the game-winning field goal, negating his successful attempt. Parkey missed on his subsequent kick in a play that became known as the Double Doink, securing Philadelphia's victory. However, after a promising start to their Divisional Round game in New Orleans, the Eagles fell to the New Orleans Saints, 20–14. This was Pederson's first career postseason loss as a head coach.
Jacksonville Jaguars
On February 4, 2022, Pederson was hired as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. His first win with the Jaguars was the Week 2 defeat of the Indianapolis Colts by 24–0. Two weeks later, Pederson returned to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia for a game against his former team, the Philadelphia Eagles, who were the only remaining undefeated team that season. Despite the Jaguars getting an early 14–0 lead, the Eagles came back and won the game 29–21. After the game, Pederson did a jersey/jacket swap with Eagles center Jason Kelce. Despite starting the season 3–7, the Jaguars came out of their bye week and won six of their last seven games, finishing 9–8 and winning the division for the first time since 2017. The Jaguars became the third team since the 1970 AFL–NFL merger, along with the 2004 San Diego Chargers and the 2008 Miami Dolphins, to draft first overall and then win their division in the following season.
In the Wild Card Round against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Jaguars committed five turnovers in the first half and found themselves down 27–0 in the second quarter, but they managed to rally and win 31–30 off a field goal by Riley Patterson in the final seconds. The 27-point comeback was the third largest in NFL playoff history, and the largest in franchise history. The Jaguars also became the first team in NFL playoff history to win a playoff game with an in-game turnover margin of −5. The Jaguars saw their season end in the next round with a 27–20 loss in the Divisional Round to the Kansas City Chiefs, the eventual Super Bowl winners.
Before Jacksonville's Week 12 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football, their record was 8–3. The Jaguars eventually had a late-season collapse and lost four straight games. Following a loss to the Titans in Week 18, the Jaguars fell to a final record of 9–8 and missed the playoffs and the chance to win the AFC South, finishing second behind the Houston Texans.
The Jaguars lost their first four games in 2024 and never got back on track. An embarrassing 52–6 loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 11 fueled reporters' speculation that "the end could be nigh" for Pederson's job. He continued to coach the Jaguars but was fired the morning after the team's final game of the 4–13 season that, as reported, "fell seismically short of owner Shad Khan's expectations."
Since 2025
Although reports indicated Pederson garnered interest as an offensive coordinator, he was not hired for the 2025 NFL season. He mainly followed teams with new coaches since they were "fascinating to me"; this included the Jaguars and his successor Liam Coen, taking interest in seeing how his offense differed from Pederson's.
In January 2026, he coached Team Makai at the Polynesian Bowl. Makai lost 14–3. Without a team for the 2026 season, Pederson was hired by CBS Sports Network as a college football color commentator.
Personal life
A devout Christian, Pederson and his wife Jeannie have three sons, including Josh, also a professional football player. During his time with the Eagles, Pederson lived in Moorestown, New Jersey.
Head coaching record
Coaching tree
Three of Pederson's coaching assistants have become head coaches in the NFL, NCAA or USFL:
John DeFilippo, New Orleans Breakers (2022–2023), Memphis Showboats (2024)
G.J. Kinne, Incarnate Word (2022), Texas State (2023–present)
Frank Reich, Indianapolis Colts (2018–2022), Carolina Panthers (2023), Stanford (2025)